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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25139443">Lights Out</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NaruSasuNaruLover/pseuds/NaruSasuNaruLover'>NaruSasuNaruLover</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Lights Out Trilogy &amp; Related Bonus One-Shots [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abuse, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Best Friends, Bottom Uchiha Sasuke, Creepy Orochimaru (Naruto), Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Roller Coaster, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Heavy Angst, Homophobia (not Naruto or Sauske), Implied/Referenced Abuse, Jealousy, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Orochimaru Being an Asshole (Naruto), Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Uzumaki Naruto, Sexual Confusion, Top Uzumaki Naruto, internalized homophobia (not Naruto or Sasuke), narusasunaru</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 02:00:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>72,153</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25139443</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/NaruSasuNaruLover/pseuds/NaruSasuNaruLover</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Naruto and Sasuke hated each other in high school. What happens when in college they are roomed together? How about when the power goes out and one is afraid? </p><p>When I say slow burn I mean slow burn. Most relationships are not tagged because they will be a surprise, only main relationship is tagged. If there are any relationships you are really against and want to know if it will be part of the story you can ask and I will let you know. </p><p>If you are triggered by referenced abuse and the emotional turmoil caused by it then do not read this. Seriously read the tags if you get triggered by things this has some heavy themes. I think I got all the tags, but let me know if you think I'm missing anything.</p><p>Revised version of my story Lights Out posted on FanFiction.net. There is at least one additional chapter which may be triggering to some and will influence some additional changes to the story though it will remain very similar to the original version. Revised version of the sequel will be posted once this is complete.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Lights Out Trilogy &amp; Related Bonus One-Shots [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1965598</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>166</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>317</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Home Life</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>As stated in the summary, this is a revised version of a story I posted a long time ago on FanFiction.net. The one on FF is complete and is 57 chapters with a 26 chapter sequel called All or Nothing. It got good reviews on FF but I think it could be better so I'm revising it.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When someone said the name Sasuke Uchiha everyone in their town knew who they were talking about. He was a popular kid that did not want to be popular. Sasuke was good looking, gaining him attention from his female classmates, though he never acted on any of their advances and actively turned down anyone that showed the slightest bit of interest. He was quiet and moody, causing people to whisper about his tragic backstory of losing his parents and speculate about what was wrong with him, but nothing was ever said to his face. If someone were to ask about his personality people would describe him as standoffish at best and various versions of the word asshole at worst.</p><p>When he was eight years old, he had seen his parents die in front of him as a result of a car crash. He tried calling for help, but no one came and by the time anyone did, it was too late, causing he and his brother were put into foster care. That night had changed his life forever, causing a once normal child to become withdrawn and afraid. Soon a man named Orochimaru adopted them. The moment Sasuke saw Orochimaru he did not like the snake-like man and living with him only made Sasuke wish he had died that night along with his parents. The man was abusive, though when his brother was there he'd protect him. Itachi could only protect him for so long. Itachi was classified as a genius and had been able to skip grades, causing him to get through school quickly. Ultimately, Itachi went away to college at a much earlier age than he should have, leaving Sasuke alone.</p><p>Sasuke sat on his bed looking down at the floor, his dark hair falling in to his face. He couldn't believe he was finally getting out of the house. Sasuke was finally graduating and leaving for college. Despite having decided to go to the local university only thirty minutes away, he chose to live in the dorms. He wasn't the only student from his school that chose the dorms over living with their parents, he just had other reasons for doing so. Those students wanted to live on their own and be an adult, they weren't running away from their abusive guardian, or at least he didn't think of of them were. <em>'Don't screw this up, get a job, save money, start renting an apartment when the semester is done and you'll never have to come back to this stupid place,'</em> he thought to himself. He hated leaving the Uchiha manor in such hands, but he refused to come back when Orochimaru was there. The truth was, it was his decision to move out, he may be young, but he was eighteen and that meant he was an adult so Orochimaru couldn't stop him anymore.</p><p>He rubbed his arm from where he'd been held too tightly the previous night as he was thrown against the wall. He was sure that his back was covered in bruises, but he didn't dare lift his shirt to look, rather he just made sure that he wore shirts to cover them. He sighed as he thought about it, about how the older man always hurt him, yet was careful enough never to send him to the hospital. Orochimaru loved to punch and leave bruises on him, he loved to throw him against walls, but he would never break a bone or break him enough so that Sasuke would need to go to the hospital. He would always say, "Toughen up, its just a few cuts and bruises," every time Sasuke showed him any weakness. When Sasuke needed to complete his gym credits he had taken the courses over summer so he wouldn't have to change in the locker rooms. He would have nothing that he needed to explain.</p><p>The dark haired teen shook his head, wanting to stop thinking about it. He went toward his things, pulling out a checklist to make sure that he had everything. <em>'Clothes, check, some books, check, money, check, journal, check' </em>he thought to himself as he started going through the list to make sure he had everything. <em>'Nightlight,'</em> he thought as he looked around for it, panicking a little. Ever since the death of his parents he hadn't been able to sleep without it, which was only amplified when Orochimaru appeared. His nerves calmed when he found it, realizing it was already packed safely. The thought that he may have to go buy a new one was more than a little embarrassing.<em> 'What will I say to my roommate?'</em> he wondered, knowing it couldn't be the truth. He frowned and started thinking of an excuse. He knew it wasn't normal for an eighteen-year-old to still sleep with a nightlight. </p><p>Once he was packed, he started taking his things down to his car. The parking pass for resident students was already on his window. As he was loading up the car, Orochimaru came down, "Sasuke, you know you could just stay here." He could feel his intense eye on him as he put his things in the car.</p><p>"Hn," was his only response. He refused to look him in the eyes; as if he did then Orochimaru may attack. He was always on high alert when it came to Orochimaru, never knowing when he was going to snap. </p><p>"Look at me when I talk to you," the older man ordered. His voice gave off a creepy aura that made Sasuke spine shiver, and not in a good way. Sasuke ignored him, but knew it would be okay because there was light and he never hit when there was light and certainly not when they were in public.</p><p>"Leave me alone," Sasuke mumbled as he finished packing the last of his things into his car. He hated feeling so weak against the man in front of him, but he couldn't help it since the man had been abusing him more and more since he took him in. Sasuke had three years until he'd get his trust fund that his parents left for him when they died and then he'd know he's truly free of Orochimaru. He came from a wealthy business family; the Uchiha Company was taken over by a family friend, Kakashi, when his parents died. He tried to also get the boys, but lost because he was single and running a business. However Kakashi kept in contact with Sasuke and Itachi telling both the boys that the business what theirs once school and training was complete. Kakashi took good care of the family business, as well as still gave money to the business school that all the Uchihas went to, as well as making sure each of the boys got a car for their sixteenth birthday. However, not being their guardian, there wasn't much else that he could do. After all, it wasn't as if he and Orochimaru got along.</p><p>"You'll be back," Orochimaru said with a glare. Sasuke took one last look at Orochimaru's snake-like yellow eyes. As he watched the older man's dark hair blow in the wind, he knew he didn't want to see him again. Orochimaru stood tall, proud, and looked as intimidating as ever. Sasuke wouldn't give in though, he knew what he was after; he wanted part of the Uchiha fortune and thought that he could break him to get it. The teen knew Orochimaru felt good holding power over him, as if he got off on it. "Even if you aren't, you'll still see me again. After all, you see me every time you close your eyes, don't you?" Sasuke wished he could smack that smirk off his face, but instead he just remained silent as he closed his trunk and got into his car. He drove away without looking back, hating the feeling Orochimaru's last words brought him.</p><p>
  <strong>NS </strong>
</p><p>At ten o'clock Naruto Uzumaki opened his eyes, waking up peacefully. He let out a yawn, stretching and then looked at his clock, at which point he fell out of bed. "Crap," he yelled. He quickly picked himself off the floor as he realized he still needed to pack his things and that he meant to get up a few hours earlier, however he was never and early riser. He thought of all the things he needed to do before leaving, specifically packing. As much as he loved his brother, he was excited to be on his own. </p><p>"I told you to pack last night," teasing voice from behind him said. He turned a second to glare at his brother, Kurama, and then hurried his packing. Packing was more throwing a bunch of things into suitcases in an unorganized fashion. There was no checklist to make sure everything was there. He just figured he'd drive the half an hour to get the things he needed if he forgot anything.</p><p>"Shut up Kurama, I really don't need to hear any more I told you so, today," he said as he hurried to get packed. The school had it organized so that students could only pick up their room keys by a certain time; otherwise, they'd be on lunch or closed. This meant that if he wanted to get into his room today, he'd have to wait until one or do it before twelve. He really wanted to get out his house, so he hoped to get there before twelve. Today was the first day of people moving in, but they were doing it all week so hoped some people would wait to move in.</p><p>Kurama just sat there watching him run around in a panic. He was sure his brother was getting some twisted form of joy out of his pain. However, that was all he could expect from Kurama. His brother had chased off every foster parents that they had since their father died. He was too young to remember his father's death and Kurama wouldn't talk about. He knew that Kurama blamed himself. He knew his mother died while giving birth to him, but his father's death was a mystery. Kurama always said, <em>"Don't worry about it"</em> then frowned.</p><p>"Kurama, can't you just help me pack," Naruto asked as he tried shoving everything in his suitcases.</p><p>"Nope, this is more fun," answered Kurama as he ate chips and leaned against the doorway as if he were watching television. He laughed at Naruto's attempt and it made Naruto think about why the two of them were called the Uzumaki monsters. He thought about how much trouble they got into as kids with little or no supervision. It mellowed out as they got older, but they still sometimes pulled pranks on people. "You're going to miss me," Naruto smiled. He knew his brother picked on him a lot, but he also knew they stuck together and helped each other. Kurama just rolled his eyes in response. Naruto felt it best not to say anything else. He knew sometimes Kurama could have mood swings and he didn't want to provoke one. They may get along sometimes and Kurama may not have hurt him but he's hurt people in the past. Naruto had seen what Kurama could do to people and he knew it was the main reason people left them alone.</p><p>Kurama walked over to Naruto as he finished packing and ruffled Nartuo's hair as he said, "Good luck in college."</p><p>"Thanks," Naruto smiled as he took his things to his car, which he had worked for since he was sixteen. It was nothing special, but it was his baby because it was all his. He had his parking sticker already and knew that all he needed was his room key and he'd be set. He shoved his things into his car. "See you later," he smiled to his brother before getting in his car to go school. He was excited to get out of his house, to make a new name for himself. He wouldn't be looked at in fear or hatred because he was Kurama's brother. He would show that he was nothing like his brother.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Roommate</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry this took so long, but if you really want to read the full story now you can on my FanFiction.net account (same username) it is just not edited like this one and may be a little different because my writing style is a little different now so I'm adding/tweaking some things. This chapter is about 400 words longer than the non revised chapter so it is a little different, but nothing major.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Naruto was excited as he made his way to collect his room key. He had to stand in a short line, as all the tables that were set up for the purpose of greeting and handing out keys were currently helping other students. As he stood in line, he thought about what kind of roommate he wanted. He hoped he might be a friend he had made from basketball in high school or maybe one of the people that weren’t from the surrounding school districts so that he wouldn't know him at all and could just have a fresh start with someone. The University was small and made up mostly of students of the surrounding areas. Generally the only people from out of town were those that traveled for the Uchiha funded business school.  </p>
<p>Naruto hated the Uchihas; more specifically he hated Sasuke Uchiha. He knew that Sasuke's parents had died because everyone talked about the young Uchiha. Regardless, Naruto felt that Sasuke had everything Naruto ever wanted, yet Sasuke didn't seem to care about any of it. The dark haired teen had flawless skin, the perfect body, smoldering eyes, and everybody loved him.  For the most part it seemed like people loved him more for his looks and his last name than his personality, but to Naruto it didn’t matter why they loved him. Sasuke still got the attention and recognition Naruto always wanted but never received no matter how hard he tried. If there was one person Naruto didn't want as a roommate, it was Sasuke.</p>
<p>"Next," the lady at the table called. Naruto made his way to the table and she looked at him with annoyance. "Name," she demanded as she looked at him.</p>
<p>"Naruto Uzumaki," he smiled as he answered. He could tell that she didn't care for his enthusiasm as she got his key. After practically throwing the key at him, she glared at him until he walked away. For being a greeter she wasn’t very welcoming and he couldn't help but think, <em>'Well somebody hates her job.'</em> Naruto wanted to say it out loud but thought it would be better if he didn’t even though he knew that telling off a greeter wouldn’t get him in trouble in college. He then read the card with his room number on it: <em>331 Konoha Hall.</em> He smiled to himself and made his way toward the dorms.</p>
<p>As he walked, he thought more about his roommate. He knew he didn't want Sasuke, but he still hoped for somebody hot. After his failed date with his friend Sakura a few years back he confirmed his own suspicion that he might be gay. His friends were okay with it since he wasn't attracted to any of them and he rarely talked about it. As he thought about it further he realized that being attracted to his roommate might make things awkward. He sighed and decided to stop thinking about it as he walked the rest of the way toward Konoha Hall.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Sasuke Uchiha got to his dorm room early. He figured that he'd arrive before his roommate and he was right. He quickly unpacked his things, finding a place for everything on his side of the room. He picked the side by the window, because windows always provided more light. He quickly found a place that wasn't very noticeable to plug in his nightlight, figuring that if he were asked about it he could just make something up or glare at them to shut them up. He’d found that glaring to often be an effective way to shut people up and make it known he did not want to be friends.</p>
<p>He hadn't really thought about who his roommate might be. He had heard his friends Suigetsu and Juugo talking about roommates long before school started but he just ignored the conversation. He figured he'd just see whom he was stuck with when the time came. There was only one person that Sasuke hoped it wouldn't be and that was Naruto Uzumaki. For some reason the guy hated him. Sasuke was just quiet and kept to himself, but Naruto was always picking fights with him. Sasuke and Naruto had fought for as long as he could remember yet he had no idea why they really fought.</p>
<p>Sasuke decided that he didn't want to think about who his roommate would be. Instead he wanted to take a shower and relax a little before his roommate arrived. He grabbed his towel and bathroom supplies that he'd brought from home and walked into the bathroom. The bathroom joined their room to another room but he was just grateful that it wasn’t a community bathroom shared by most of the floor. It only had enough space for a toilet, shower/bathtub combo, as well as a few sinks and a mirror. After shutting the door to the bathroom and locking the doors to each of the rooms, he undressed and got in the shower.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Naruto walked into his room to see that his roommate was already there and had picked which bed would be his. He could hear the shower running so he figured that his roommate was probably in the shower. Once Naruto opened the closet he felt his stomach drop, it wasn't just because of all the dark colors which filled closet but also because he was sure he had seen those close before on the very person he didn’t want to share a room with. A feeling of dread took over as he wished he had thought ahead like some of his other friends and submitted a request for a specific roommate rather than leaving it up to chance.</p>
<p>Sasuke turned the shower off and cursed at himself as he saw he forgot his new clothes. He looked at the bruise on his back and knew he couldn't go out there without a shirt on without being asked a million questions that he didn’t want to answer. He knew he heard someone come in and he was fairly certain it was from his room, not the adjoining room. Despite finding it a little disgusting to wear old clothes after a shower he quickly pulled on what he was wearing earlier, figuring his roommate wouldn't know the difference.</p>
<p>When Sasuke walked out of the bathroom boys' eyes widened when they saw each other, Sasuke's more than Naruto's. "Damn it," Naruto said as he saw Sasuke. They glared at each other, both seeing the one person they did not want as a roommate. "I can't believe my luck," the blonde crossed his arms with a huff.</p>
<p>"Your luck?" Sasuke scoffed as he went over to his bed. He ran a hand through his wet hair, wishing it would be some sort of mistake. "Trust me dobe, I'm the unlucky one in this room," Sasuke rolled his eyes. He tried to remain as standoffish as possible in the hopes that it would keep Naruto away.</p>
<p>"Must you do that already," Naruto growled as he clenched his fists.</p>
<p>"Do what?" Sasuke teased with a smirk. He figured if Naruto was going to hate him anyway, might as well give him something to hate. He couldn’t quite explain why he felt such satisfaction over riling him up.</p>
<p>"You're acting like a jerk," Naruto shouted. "And you've only said a few sentences," he added, making Sasuke smirk more.</p>
<p>"I will when you stop being annoying," Sasuke snarled as Naruto started getting more in his face. "Listen, I'm not happy we're roomed together either," he sighed as he backed away form the other man and rubbed his forehead, trying to make his headache go away.</p>
<p>Naruto glared at his dark haired roommate as he mumbled, "You're the annoying one." Sasuke didn't respond, instead just sat on his bed and ignored the blonde. Naruto watched as Sasuke pulled out his journal.</p>
<p>Sasuke figured that Naruto would see the journal eventually so there was no point in hiding it. He'd been keeping the journal ever since his "traumatic event." That was what they called it, because no one would talk about his parents' death. His therapist and Kakashi would try; however, he just continued to put up his walls. Kakashi made him go to a therapist and the only opening up he did to her was through his journal that she made him keep.</p>
<p>"You have a diary?" Naruto asked as he stared at Sasuke.</p>
<p>"It’s a journal," Sasuke corrected as he continued to write. He didn't even look up at the blonde, though he could feel the blue eyes staring at him. It was unnerving and he felt as if he were under a microscope with the intensity of Naruto’s stare.</p>
<p>"Why? Isn't that a little girly?" Naruto teased.</p>
<p>"None of your business," Sasuke glared, happy he hadn't found the nightlight yet. He protected his journal as the blonde eyed it. Sasuke promised himself only he and his therapist would see what's inside it. The contents were no one else’s business and at times he even hated that he had to share it with his therapist.</p>
<p>Naruto tried to think of a come back, but instead his eyes zoned in on a nightlight, "Is that a nightlight?" He couldn't help but laugh, the almighty Sasuke Uchiha still had a nightlight.</p>
<p>"Shut up dobe," he glared.</p>
<p>"Seriously, a nightlight, what are you five?" Naruto grinned thinking he could use this against him in the future.</p>
<p>Sasuke knew he had think fast, so he said the first thing that popped into his mind, "I use it so I don't have to turn the light on to get up for the bath room at night, is that a problem?" His voice was lethal in the way he said it, ending the conversation right there.</p>
<p>Naruto rolled his eyes at his dark haired roommate, saying, "Whatever." However, he couldn't help but think it wasn't true. First, he was being way too secretive with the journal and then the guy had a nightlight. It was more than a little strange. Rather than thinking about it, he decided that he needed to get out of the room. Naruto grabbed his key and his phone and walked out of the room without saying another word to Sauske.</p>
<p>'<em>What dorm room are you in?'</em> He text Kiba, hoping that he'd already gotten to the school and to his room. A few moments later, he received a text saying, <em>'Konoha Hall 321.' </em>He smiled as he made his way down the hall. Naruto was happy someone he knew was his floor, especially since he knew he could escape to Kiba’s room if he needed somewhere to hide out from his asshole roommate.</p>
<p>He knocked on the door and Shino opened the door a moment later. "Let me in, please, I need to get out of my room. You'll never believe who my roommate is," Naruto said with a huff as he pushed his way into the room.</p>
<p>"Good to see you too," Shino said as he shut the door.</p>
<p>"Who's your roommate?" Kiba asked with a laugh, though he had a feeling he knew because of how Naruto was acting. There was only one person that could frustrate Naruto in such a way.</p>
<p>"Sasuke," Naruto said as he collapsed on one of the beds, not caring whose bed it was.</p>
<p>Kiba sat down as he said, "Alright I'm here, and you can complain all you want." He knew once Naruto started on the topic of Sasuke he could go for hours. Kiba was sure he’d never understand their relationship or why they hated each other so much. All he could really do was listen and be a good friend while throwing in the occasional comment.  </p>
<p>Naruto smiled, "I knew there was a reason you are my best friend."</p>
<p>
  <strong>TBC... </strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Let me know what you think and if you think I should continue revising and posting this.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Friends</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sasuke was lying on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. He couldn't believe that the one person he didn't want as his roommate was whom he got as a roommate. Actually, he could, because that was just his luck. He went from living with an abusive asshole to an idiot, but at least he was moving up. He could handle annoying. Sasuke had shoved his journal in the space between his bed and the wall, hoping the blonde wouldn't find it after he covered it with the blanket. Naruto was the last person he wanted knowing all his personal thoughts. He didn't want the idiot reading it and taking pity on him, he didn't need his pity. He had a feeling that, if given the opportunity, Naruto would read his journal without second thought.</p>
<p>Sasuke's phone went off, signaling a text message. He saw it was from his friend Suigetsu, <em>'What room are you in?'</em>He quickly replied with his room number and which hall, knowing that the light haired teen would be there soon if he were asking. He was sure that Suigetsu would have a field day when he found out who his roommate was and would probably remind him that he warned him not to leave it up to fate. Fate always seemed to bite him in the ass.</p>
<p>Suigetsu was his only friend that knew what Orochimaru did to him, but he had begrudgingly promised not to say a word to anyone else. He was also the only friend who knew the whole story about his parents. While he hung out with two other people, Karin and Juugo, he didn't tell them everything. In reality he hadn’t even wanted to tell Suigetsu everything. Suigetsu just happened to come over when Orochimaru was beating him. Sasuke tried to cover it up, but he saw right through it and made him explain everything.</p>
<p>A few moments later, there was a knock on the door. Sasuke sighed as he got up and opened the door. He was met with Suigetsu standing in front of him with a smile on his face as Sasuke moved aside so he could come in. Suigetsu looked at the bed across from Sasuke's, saw it was already messy, and decorated in orange, "Who's your roommate?" The light haired teen had a feeling he knew, but he hoped for Sasuke's sanity he was wrong.</p>
<p>Sasuke glared at him as he closed the door and sat on his bed, "Who else likes orange that much?"</p>
<p>"Naruto's your roommate," he laughed, though Sasuke didn't see the humor in it. Suigetsu sat next to him as he looked around the dorm room, which left very little room for privacy. All the dorm rooms were the same size and looked as if they were trying to compact every student into a small space. However, it was a small college so he couldn't blame them. Every student staying in the dorms had to have a meal plan, which in the school's mind made it so that there didn't have to be a kitchen in the dorms. There was only a small seating area, a place to sleep and the bathroom, which connected the two rooms. It reminded Sasuke a little bit of a hotel room, just with a bathroom that was connected to another room. The room had a desk in it and a place for students to put their clothes, though there wasn't much room for anything that wasn't necessary.</p>
<p>"Please don't remind me," Sasuke shook his head, his glare making it clear that he should not say ‘I told you so.’ Suigetsu just laughed as his friend's misery. He knew how much Sasuke hated Naruto and vice versa. Everyone who went to their high school knew about their "rivalry" though no one knew who had started it or why. Sasuke said it was the blonde and Naruto claimed it was all Sasuke's fault.</p>
<p>"Why do you hate him so much?" Suigetsu asked. He never could understand Sasuke and Naruto's relationship, the two never communicated and yet they hated each other. All they ever did was fight when they were around each other, he wondered if they every even tried being civil.</p>
<p>"Because, he hates me, the dobe started it," Sasuke crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. They have had the same conversation on numerous occasions, yet Suigetsu still didn’t understand why either of them hated the other.</p>
<p>"You do realize you sound just like him right now," he pointed out. Sasuke glared at him rather than answering and Suigetsu knew he wasn't going to make any progress. "Fine have it your way," he sighed. He knew there was no winning with Sasuke when it came to Naruto.</p>
<p>"Well what am I supposed to do the guy hates me for no reason," Sasuke snapped. They both knew there was at least a little bit of a reason. No one may have known the original cause of the rivalry, but Sasuke’s attitude certainly didn’t help put an end to it.</p>
<p>"Sasuke maybe it's just because he only ever sees you with your walls up," Suigetsu frowned at him. He knew what he was suggesting wouldn't go over well with Sasuke. "I'm not saying, tell him everything, I'm just saying maybe be a little nicer," he clarified, knowing Sasuke would probably never tell anyone else what was really going on at home, if one could really call living with Orochimaru a home.</p>
<p>"Thanks, but I think it's too late for that advice," the dark haired teen looked away. "He already hates me and I don't care to change his mind." Sasuke always claimed that he didn’t care about what other people thought of him, but they both knew that wasn’t completely true. Despite what some people may have thought, Sasuke’s human and has feelings. It’s only natural to want people to at least tolerate you, but Sasuke’s need to emotionally protect himself overpowered any desire he may have for acceptance.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>"Tell me what happened," Kiba said as he looked at Naruto, ready for the onslaught of complaints he was about to receive. He knew anything having to do with Sasuke would make the blonde rant. There was something about the dark haired teen that drove Naruto crazy, no one even really tried to understand it at that point. Instead, Kiba resigned to just listening to his friend rant about stupid things when it came to the topic of Sasuke.</p>
<p>"He just pisses me off," Naruto said as he stood up and started pacing back and forth. Kiba watched him finding the whole thing entertaining. "It's like he thinks he's just above everyone else," he huffed, trying to find a way to describe what the other teen does that is so frustrating. He didn’t understand why people couldn’t seem to see what he saw when it came to Sasuke.</p>
<p>"What does he do?" Shino asked. The dark haired teen had always been quiet, so he hadn't ever made many friends or enemies. He seemed to be neutral when it came to Sasuke, though Naruto wasn’t sure that the two ever really said a word to each other.</p>
<p>Naruto practically pouted as he said, "He calls me dobe and teases me all the time.” He realized how childish it sounded, but he didn’t really care.</p>
<p>Shino looked at him and shook his head while Kiba just laughed. "Have you ever tried being the bastard's friend?" Kiba asked, though he was pretty sure he knew the answer.</p>
<p>"No," he mumbled. None of them had ever really given Sasuke a chance. He was the guy that all the girls fawned over, got perfect grades and appeared to have the perfect life. However, none of them really knew anything about him. Sasuke only had three people he considered friends, so Kiba figured he couldn't be that perfect. Appearances can be misleading and he was pretty sure that was the case when it came to Sasuke.</p>
<p>"Maybe you should try," Shino suggested as if it were that simple.</p>
<p>"Aren't you supposed to be the quiet one?" Naruto said as he turned away from them, knowing he was probably right. They were going to be roommates for at least a year and it would certainly be easier to handle if they were at least civil. In theory it was a good idea, that didn’t mean it was possible.</p>
<p>"He's right Naruto," Kiba said. "I hate to be the voice of reason, because well I'm usually not. However, we really don't know anything about this guy."</p>
<p>"I know enough," Naruto turned away, not wanting to hear anymore. "I mean we've always been in most of the same classes, I know stuck up when I see it." Perhaps he was being stubborn, but he wasn’t going to change his mind.</p>
<p>"How about we invite him out one night, and if he doesn't want to or if he's a jerk the entire night we say fuck him and can hate him for the rest of the year," Kiba tried to reason with him. "I mean you only have to deal with him one year."</p>
<p>"No way, I'm not going out anywhere with that stuck up bastard," Naruto argued. "And you make one year sound short, that's two semesters! Two semesters with the bastard, who by the way, has a nightlight."</p>
<p>"A nightlight?" Kiba laughed, almost not believing Naruto because he knew how much he hated Sasuke. He wouldn’t put it past Naruto to make something up to try to embarrass Sasuke.</p>
<p>"Yes, he gave some lame excuse about getting up to the bathroom at night," Naruto rolled his eyes. He hated how Sasuke seemed to think he was a complete idiot that would buy such a story. It was yet another infuriating quality.</p>
<p>"Whatever, I don't care about his nightlight, I just want to go out tonight. So let's go to your room so you can get changed. I'm not taking you to a party wearing that ugly orange shirt," Kiba sighed at his friend's stubbornness and his ability to change the subject. He was done trying to talk some sense into the blonde. It wasn’t his problem if Naruto didn’t want to at least try to make his semester a little more bearable by befriending Sasuke.</p>
<p>"Glad you see it my way," Naruto smiled as Kiba checked himself over in the mirror quickly. He chose to ignore the fact that Kiba had called his shirt ugly and concentrated on the fact that Kiba seemed to have given up on him trying to be friends with Sasuke. He knew that he would never be friends with Sasuke, it just wasn’t possible. They mixed about as well as oil and water, which would never change.</p>
<p>"Yeah, whatever, if we leave soon we can go get dinner before it starts," Kiba rolled his eyes. He was done with Naruto’s nonsense. He’d listen to him complain, but only to a certain extent before he wanted to slap him for being an idiot.</p>
<p>"Are you coming Shino?" Naruto asked as they started to head out of the room.</p>
<p>"Nope, that's okay, have fun," Shino said as they walked out of the room.</p>
<p>The two boys walked down the hall and into room 331. Sasuke and Suigetsu were talking, though they immediately silenced as Naruto and Kiba walked in. "You don't have to stop talking just because we came in," Kiba said, wondering exactly what was being discussed. He assumed it was probably something about Naruto because Suigetsu looked just as exacerbated as Kiba felt.</p>
<p>Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other a moment. "So what are you guys up to tonight?" Suigetsu asked, hoping to break the tension as Naruto picked out something to wear.</p>
<p>"We're going to a party, you guys want to come?" Kiba grinned. "There will be alcohol." He knew it would piss off Naruto, but he didn’t care. If they were going to make it through the year then the two of them needed to at least try to work out whatever issues they had.</p>
<p>Sasuke was about to say no, however, Suigetsu cut him off by saying, "That sounds like fun, we'd love to." He was happy to find he had a likely ally in Kiba.</p>
<p>"Awesome, the more the merrier, right Naruto?" Kiba smirked as Naruto sent him a death glare.</p>
<p>Sasuke was sending Suigetsu his infamous glare, though he was unfazed by it, as he'd received it so often over the years. "You better get dressed Sasuke," Suigetsu said as he looked at what the Uchiha was wearing. Sasuke continued to glare at him, refusing to move. Suigetsu went to the closet, pulling out what he knew to be one of Sasuke's favorite shirts and a pair of tight black pants. "Just go get dressed," Suigetsu demanded as he threw the clothes at him. Sasuke grabbed the clothes and made his way to the bathroom.</p>
<p>Kiba just smirked, "This should be fun."</p>
<p>Suigetsu just nodded, though he didn't know if fun was the word he would use to describe how the night would be. With Naruto and Sasuke present, he would say it would be more unpredictable.</p>
<p>
  <strong>TBC...</strong>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Party</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"We're here to eat dinner, not glare at each other," Suigetsu said as he looked at Sasuke and Naruto, who had moved their chairs so far apart it looked as if there was supposed to be another chair between them. Kiba was starting to think that maybe going to dinner was a bad idea; sure, he knew that dinner would mean they could drink more because they had something to eat, but it also meant awkward silence with Naruto and Sasuke.</p><p>"We can do both," Naruto said as he continued to glare at Sasuke, refusing to lose to the other man.</p><p>"Can't we try to talk?" Suigetsu asked. He knew the answer but figured it was at least worth a try. He really didn’t feel like having the two teens cause a scene and get them kicked out of the restaurant when they inevitably started to yell or physically fight each other.</p><p>"No," Sasuke said as he continued to glare back at Naruto. Sasuke wanted to argue that he hadn’t started it, but that would only make him sound childish.</p><p>"Give up man these two are just too stubborn. I mean if they just want to stare into each other's eyes all night, let them," Kiba smirked. Almost immediately, both Sasuke and Naruto looked away. Naruto sank into his chair, mumbling about bastards and eyes. Kiba just laughed and asked, "What was that Naruto?"</p><p>"I was not looking into that bastard's eyes," he said, fighting the blush that was trying to appear. He looked over at Sasuke who seemed practically unfazed by it, as he did by everything. Naruto felt it wasn’t fair how Sasuke could remain so unaffected by everything. It was as if he were just a shell of a person.</p><p>"What about you Sasuke were you staring into Naruto's eyes?" Kiba laughed as he looked at Sasuke, knowing very well that the dark haired teen may choose to hurt him. Kiba figured since they were in public the chance of him resorting to any sort of violence was fairly low.</p><p>"Shut up, dog boy," Sasuke rolled his eyes. Kiba just smirked; he was having way too much fun messing with the two of them.</p><p>Naruto and Sasuke were happy when the food they had ordered earlier came and took some of the attention away from them. Kiba smiled when the tall, longhaired, and big-breasted waitress came to their table to give them their food. "Thank you," he said with a grin, trying not to sound as perverted as he felt as he watched her walk away. "Man she was hot," he said.</p><p>"I couldn't tell, all I could see were her tits," Suigetsu laughed. It may have been a little sexist but it wasn’t as if any of them planned to do anything without her consent. The woman probably thought she’d get a bigger tip showing some cleavage to a table of men. If anything it was probably smart of her and had likely worked on multiple occasions. He had observed how she would button up when she served a table with couples or families and casually unbuttoned one more button when serving a table of all men. It wasn’t as if she made it so her boobs were hanging out, it was just enough to pull attention to them.</p><p>Naruto just remained quiet as Suigetsu and Kiba went on about the woman, he hated when Kiba acted like the woman was just some sort of object and not an actual person. It wasn’t as if Naruto started talking about every hot guy they saw, he didn’t understand why Kiba felt the need to talk about every hot woman.</p><p>"What do you think Sasuke?" Kiba asked. Suigetsu almost laughed at the question, but he held it in when Sasuke glared at him.</p><p>"Hn," he shrugged as he continued to eat. Kiba looked at him skeptically, as if no straight man could just say that about the girl.</p><p>"That's it?" he asked in disbelief. "You had to think she was hot."</p><p>"Actually her face was quite ugly, all you were looking at was her breasts," Sasuke said. Naruto bit his lip, not wanting to laugh at something Sasuke had said, even if it was true and the expression on Kiba's face was priceless.</p><p>Instead of laughing, Naruto settled on saying, "I thought you liked Hinata." He knew that would get him going.</p><p>"I do like Hinata, but she sees me as just a friend," he sighed and played with the food that was left on his plate.</p><p>"Ever thought it's because of the way you look at other girls?" Sasuke asked. "Or is she just still hung up on the dobe?"</p><p>Naruto glared at him because of the second question. "She doesn't like me, why does everyone think that?"</p><p>"Why are you so oblivious?" Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I hardly paid attention to our peers in high school and even I could tell that she liked you." Sasuke couldn’t believe the other teen hadn’t seen what everyone else could clearly see, or maybe he just didn’t want to since it was obvious he didn’t feel the same way.</p><p>"Trust me I'm not her type," Naruto said, causing Kiba to laugh.</p><p>"Don't you mean she's not your type," Kiba corrected with another laugh. Naruto may not have been the stereotypical gay man, but he had stared at enough men for Kiba to know exactly what his type was even if he didn’t come out and say it. What Kiba found funnier was that his type seemed to all look like Sasuke, though he had never pointed that out to the blonde.</p><p>"Shut up," Naruto said as he looked away from the table. He saw the waitress and called her over, "Can we get the check please?" he asked and she nodded and walked away to get the check. "We should get going if we're going to make it to the party," he said, feeling the need to explain his actions.</p><p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p><p>They arrived at the party shortly after finishing dinner. The music was loud the lights were low and there was a lot of alcohol. "I'm going to go get us all some drinks," Kiba said over the music.</p><p>"I'll help you," Suigetsu smirked at him. They walked away and Suigetsu said, "Let's leave them there for awhile.” He felt it would be best to let them stew for a while and maybe work out their differences a little bit. He had a feeling that they may have more in common than they realized.</p><p>"I like the way you think," Kiba laughed as they walked towards the table to get drinks.</p><p>"Naruto's gay isn't he?" Suigetsu asked bluntly, shocking Kiba.</p><p>"How'd you know?" Kiba asked, unsure if he should reveal his friend's secret.</p><p>"He didn't say anything about the girl," Suigetsu pointed out. "Like Sasuke,” Suigetsu was trying to be subtle about Sasuke’s sexuality without actually saying that the teen was gay.</p><p>"Whoa, wait, Sasuke Uchiha is gay? You're lying," Kiba said, feeling a little stupid that he didn't notice it before.</p><p>"Have you ever seen him with a girl?" Suigetsu asked.</p><p>"That Karin chick," Kiba said lamely, which earned him a look. "Okay, no."</p><p>"Exactly," Suigetsu said. "So the way I see it, this should be interesting," he laughed.</p><p>"I'd say the same, if they were attracted to each other," Kiba said skeptically. He knew that Sasuke was Naruto’s type physically, but he couldn’t seem to get over some irrational hate he had for the dark haired teen.</p><p>"Any time you put Sasuke and Naruto together, it's bound to be interesting in one way or another, right?" Suigetsu asked with a shrug.</p><p>"We'll stop them before they kill each other, right?" Kiba asked with a slight smile.</p><p>"If we have to," Suigetsu laughed as he watched Sasuke and Naruto standing where they left them.</p><p>Naruto looked around trying to find Kiba and Suigetsu, but couldn't. He frowned because he didn't see anyone else he knew that he could ditch the Uchiha for either. "I don't think they're coming back," Sasuke's voice said from behind him.</p><p>"Do you know anyone else at this party?" Naruto asked, hoping he could pawn Sasuke off on someone. Naruto was social enough that he was sure if he tried he could make a new friend, at least for the night.</p><p>"Besides the two idiots that ditched us, no," Sasuke crossed his arms. He knew there was a reason that he didn't want to go to this party. He hated having to interact with people he didn’t know and even more so when it was at a party where everyone was getting drunk.</p><p>"Look I don't like this any more than you do, but at least help me try to find our friends," Naruto said.</p><p>Before Sasuke to answer, the lights went dark. Sasuke's heart rate skyrocketed, as Orochimaru's words kept replaying repeatedly in his head,<em>"Even if you aren't here you'll still see me again."</em>He was right, he saw him every time he closed his eyes or the lights went out. In the dark Sasuke had always been the prey and Orochimaru was the predator. He’d never abuse him in the light of day, but the minute it was dark and the lights were out, he’d always find a reason to strike.</p><p>Soon enough a strobe light came on, providing light, but it wasn't enough. Sasuke stood, as if he were paralyzed. "Sorry about that, someone stepped on the cord," they heard someone say about their short-lived period of darkness.</p><p>"Sasuke are you okay?" snapped him out of it and he looked toward Naruto who was calling his name.</p><p>"What?" he asked, he knew he could hardly hide the look of fear on his face. He had also started to get restless, as if he needed to move. He was playing with his hands and biting his lip so hard he thought it might bleed.</p><p>"I've been calling your name like five minutes and you didn't respond," Naruto explained. He was genuinely worried, though didn't know why.</p><p>"I have to go," Sasuke said quickly as he forced his way out of the party. Naruto knew something was wrong and that he had to find Suigetsu. All Naruto could think was this had something to do with the nightlight, but he didn't have enough information to put the pieces together.</p><p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p><p>When the lights went out, Suigetsu cursed. He knew there was a reason that he shouldn't have left Sasuke, but he ignored it in favor of trying to get him to be civil with Naruto. "I have to find Sasuke," he said to Kiba. He had thought that he’d stayed close enough to have a line of sight but Sasuke was nowhere to be found.</p><p>"Why?" Kiba asked, obviously not understanding. He knew that he couldn't explain; it wasn't his story to tell.</p><p>"I can't explain that, I just have to find him," he said as he headed for the spot that he left him.</p><p>By the time he got there, he found only Naruto, looking around. The blonde looked confused. He was sure that Sasuke probably acted in a way that justified the blonde’s confusion. "Naruto where's Sasuke?" Suigetsu asked a little panicked. The light haired teen was hoping that Sasuke hadn't gone far.</p><p>"He said he had to go after the lights went out for a moment," Naruto said. "I tried to get his attention, but he hardly paid attention to me. He kept fidgeting then left," the blonde explained.</p><p>"I have to go find him," Suigetsu said as he practically ran away. Both Naruto and Kiba looked at him as he hurried off in the direction that Sasuke had disappeared.</p><p>"What was that about?" Naruto asked. He was completely confused as to what had just happened.</p><p>"I have no clue," Kiba admitted as he continued to stare at the place where Suigetsu had just stood.</p><p>"Well let's go after them," Naruto said, extremely curious as to what his roommate was hiding.</p><p>"Let's not, I think they need some space," Kiba said as he made Naruto stop. Naruto looked at him, unsure if he was right. Instead of arguing, he just nodded.</p><p>"Fine, but I need a drink," he sighed. Kiba smiled at his friend. He wasn't sure what was going on with Sasuke, but he knew if he wanted him or Naruto to know, then he would have told them. It was just another thing that he felt confirmed that Sasuke’s life was not as good as everyone seemed to think.</p><p>
  <strong>TBC...</strong>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Drunken Naruto</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Suigetsu found Sasuke walking back to his dorm. It was clear by his body language that he was scared and paranoid. He had to run to catch up to him but he eventually did. "Sasuke," he called once he came into sight. It took a few times before Sasuke stopped. Suigetsu wasn’t sure if he was ignoring him or if he simply didn’t hear him calling out his name.</p>
<p>Sasuke turned around to find Suigetsu behind him, a worried look on his face. Suigetsu was out of breath as they stood for a moment in silence. "What?" Sasuke asked his voice shaky as he looked around as if something or someone was going to get him at any moment.</p>
<p>"Talk to me, I know that you were freaked out back there," Suigetsu frowned at the fact that Sasuke seemed to be putting up his wall again, even around him.</p>
<p>"I'm fine," Sasuke said as he turned to walk away. Suigetsu grabbed his arm, causing Sasuke to flinch and yell, "Don't touch me!" He coiled back into a defensive position as if he were waiting to be hit.</p>
<p>"Sasuke it's me, you know I won't hurt you," Suigetsu said gently as he let him go, not wanting to freak the other out more than he already was.</p>
<p>"I thought you wouldn't ditch me either," he looked down, his voice showing more vulnerability than he wanted. His eyes showed a sense of betrayal once he looked back up at Suigetsu. The young Uchiha backed away from him, feeling uncomfortable.</p>
<p>"Sasuke, it's not like I knew that was going to happen," he stepped forward. "When it did, I looked for you right away," he assured his friend, knowing what a delicate state he was in at that moment. Sasuke hated feeling weak, but that was how he felt at that moment as he sat down on the curb and put his head in his hands.</p>
<p>"I can't get his voice out of my head," he admitted. Sasuke knew that Suigetsu would know exactly whom he meant, that he wouldn't have to explain any further. He was feeling suffocated and paranoid that Orochimaru would jump out of the dark. Normally he wouldn’t have walked alone in the dark but he wasn’t sure what else to do when the light went out so he practically ran back to his dorm.</p>
<p>The light haired teen sat next to him, giving him a shoulder to lean on. "He can't hurt you anymore," he assured him, though he knew that it would be an emotional battle Sasuke would fight for a long time, possibly the rest of his life. "Let's get you back to the dorms," he tried to smile, just to make Sasuke feel better if nothing else. Sasuke nodded as he let Suigetsu help him up and get him to his dorm.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>A few hours after Sasuke and Suigetsu had left, Kiba watched as Naruto made a fool of his self. He was well over his limit in alcohol and he probably should have made him leave hours ago. Kiba saw it as pay back for the last party they went to and he made sure to get plenty of blackmail material. "Come on Naruto, let's go," Kiba said as he pulled the blonde off a table.</p>
<p>"But I don't want to," Naruto slurred as he stumbled off and into a group of people that he didn't know. Kiba straightened him out and pushed him towards the exit, ignoring his protests.</p>
<p>"Trust me, you've reached your limit," Kiba said as he guided Naruto towards the dorms. Luckily, he only had two drinks and was still able to navigate them both.</p>
<p>"Tonight was fun," he slurred, dragging out ‘fun’ as he leaned on Kiba for support. Kiba was thanking whoever invented elevators; because once they got to the dorms, he was sure they were going to need them to get the blonde to the third floor.</p>
<p>"Too bad you won't remember it," Kiba gave a small laugh as he adjusted the blonde into a more comfortable position.</p>
<p>"I'll remember," Naruto argued as he tripped over his own feet.</p>
<p>Kiba barely caught him as he asked, "Really, what will you remember?"</p>
<p>Once he was able to get Naruto to balance they continued to walk. Naruto thought about Kiba’s question but he had trouble finding the words as he slurred, "Music, dancing, and Sasuke was there."</p>
<p>"Of course you'll remember Sasuke," he chuckled as he rolled his eyes.</p>
<p>"Who wouldn't remember that face?" the blonde smiled with slur.</p>
<p>Kiba's eyes widened, as he looked at Naruto, almost tripping as he said, "I thought he was a bastard."</p>
<p>"But he's hot," Naruto said with a drunken grin on his face.</p>
<p>"I'll remember that, maybe I can get him to strip for you for your birthday," Kiba laughed as he found drunken Naruto was becoming an even more open Naruto, if that was possible. He couldn't believe he was having this conversation at all, especially with Naruto.</p>
<p>"That'd be awesome," Naruto gave a half drunk and half-perverted grin, which Kiba found made him uncomfortable. He decided that all conversation about Sasuke had to end right there. He really didn't need to know any more information about how Naruto truly felt about the dark haired teen.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>There was a knock on the door at two in the morning. Sasuke was going to kill whomever it was that had the audacity to knock at such an hour. He had just gotten to sleep an hour ago. Suigetsu had made him talk when they got back to his dorm and once he left Sasuke tried for another half hour to get Orochimaru’s voice out of his head. He thought he'd never get to sleep and then once he did some moron knocks on his door. He pulled it open to see Kiba standing in the doorway with a very drunk Naruto. "What?" he practically growled at the two guys in front of him.</p>
<p>"I'm not digging in his pockets to find his key," Kiba said as he pushed Naruto into Sasuke's arms. "He's your problem now." Sasuke glared at Kiba as he watched him walk toward his own dorm room.</p>
<p>"Hey Sasuke," Naruto said as he started to play with Sasuke's hair. He was smiling like an idiot as he said, "Your hair's soft."</p>
<p>"You're a moron," Sasuke rolled his eyes as he kicked the door shut with one leg and carried the blonde over to his bed.</p>
<p>"You're hot," Naruto giggled as he was dropped onto his bed.</p>
<p>"You're drunk, go to sleep," Sasuke rolled his eyes as he crawled back into his bed before reaching to turn off the light.</p>
<p>"Hey Sasuke," came from the other side of the room.</p>
<p>"What?" he sighed in annoyance.</p>
<p>"Let's play a game," he said in a voice that was far too happy for Sasuke's liking. He really couldn't believe his bad luck in roommates.</p>
<p>"No, go to sleep," growled Sasuke as he turned away from the blonde to look toward the window. All he could think was, <em>'Obviously someone's a happy drunk.'</em></p>
<p>"Come on, please," he whined, dragging out ‘please.’</p>
<p>"Shut up," Sasuke put his pillow over his head, wishing for silence and thinking about how he just shouldn’t have answered the door. There was a moment of silence then he felt his bed move. "What the hell," he said when he looked to see Naruto next to him.</p>
<p>"I want to play a game," he demanded with a pout.</p>
<p>"Go back to your own bed," Sasuke moved away from the blonde, blushing at the ideas that rushed to his mind when he thought of the games he could play with the blonde. He wasn't sure why his mind went there, but he knew he had to get it on a different track fast.</p>
<p>"Why do I scare you," Naruto teased with only a slight slur. Sasuke kicked the blonde off his bed, literally. "You jackass," Naruto whined as he climbed back on his own bed.</p>
<p>"I told you go back to your own bed," Sasuke mumbled as he felt his heart rate accelerate. A moment later he realized the blonde didn't hear him as he heard snoring fill the room. He just shook his head knowing that there was no way he was getting to sleep that night.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Sasuke woke up to the sound of Naruto throwing up. He got up and looked toward the bathroom, "How are you feeling?"</p>
<p>"Like crap," Naruto said. His head was pounding, though his stomach seemed to have settled down. He brushed his teeth as he made his way back to his bed and collapsed. "I wasn't too annoying last night was I?"</p>
<p>"Oh not all," Sasuke said sarcastically.</p>
<p>"Oh god, what'd I do?" Naruto asked scared to know what the answer may be. He could think of a million things he could have said that he shouldn’t have.</p>
<p>"You wanted to play a game," Sasuke shrugged, figuring out he'd leave out the part about him saying he's hot and had soft hair. He hoped the blonde wouldn't see a reaction out of him when he mentioned playing a game, because he knew where his thoughts went that night.</p>
<p>"Sorry," Naruto said as he hid his face in his pillow.</p>
<p>"Its fine, you were drunk," Sasuke said. There was a moment of awkward silence. Sasuke tried to dissipate the awkwardness by grabbing one of the books he brought with him that wasn't for class and started reading.</p>
<p>"Was that all I said?" Naruto asked, worried that he may have said something stupid. His main concern was the fact that he was physically attracted to Sasuke. He knew he thought Sasuke was hot, but he didn't want Sasuke to know that.</p>
<p>"Yeah that was all," Sasuke said, refusing to look at him. Naruto didn't believe him but he figured it was best not to push it. He remembered that Sasuke had disappeared before he'd gotten drunk and he wanted to ask him why, but he knew it probably wasn't the best time. They already felt awkward around each other and he didn't want to make it worse.</p>
<p>TBC…</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Let me know what you think...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Football</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sasuke and Naruto sat in silence, each minding their own business. Naruto was listening to his iPod and lip-syncing along while Sasuke was reading a book trying his best to ignore the blonde. The only words that had been spoken between them that morning was Sasuke’s snarky remark about how no one has iPods anymore and Naruto telling him to fuck off in response.</p>
<p>A knock on the door pulled Sasuke’s attention away from his book. He looked over and Naruto and it was clear that the other teen had no idea anyone was at the door. Sasuke shook his head knowing it would be up to him to get the door. Sasuke signed as he put his book down and got up to answer the door. Once he opened the door, he saw two red shirts that read<em>freshmen</em>in bold letters. They were then lowered to show Suigetsu and Kiba standing in front of him.</p>
<p>"Don't tell me you two are friends," Sasuke said as he looked at them as they smiled dumbly back at him. The two just shrugged as they pushed their way into the room.</p>
<p>"Guess what we've got for you," Kiba grinned.</p>
<p>"Besides a headache you mean?" Sasuke sarcastically replied, causing Suigetsu to roll his eyes.</p>
<p>"Oh come on you didn't even drink the other night and even if you did it was two nights ago, plenty of time to recover, right Naruto?" Kiba smirked evilly as he threw a shirt at Naruto’s head.</p>
<p>"What?” Naruto pulled his earphones out as he tried to catch the shirt thrown his way. “Oh god, what do you have planned?" Naruto asked, as he looked at the two, happy that they didn't try to pull this off the previous day.</p>
<p>"The school has welcome actives planned for all new and returning students and we got us shirts," Kiba said as he held up a bright red shirt.</p>
<p>"The freshmen get red so they stand out," Suigetsu explained as Sasuke looked at the color.</p>
<p>"Wonderful," Naruto glared. Usually he’d love activities where he could meet new people but he wasn’t in the mood for socializing. He was happy to just take a day to tune people out while hummed along to his favorite songs.</p>
<p>"I'm not wearing that," Sasuke hissed as he crossed his arms glaring at the shirt as if it offended him.</p>
<p>"Come on, it's just for one game of football, it'll be fun," Kiba pleaded.</p>
<p>"Just get dressed and meet us at Kiba's dorm in twenty minutes, we're going to get some more people," Suigetsu demanded as he threw Sasuke a shirt.</p>
<p>"Wear something you don't mind getting dirty," Kiba reminded with a laugh as he walked out of the room.</p>
<p>There was a moment of silence before Naruto asked, "Why are we friends with them?"</p>
<p>"I don't know," Sasuke admitted as he stared down at the shirt in his hands.</p>
<p>Normally, Naruto would be up for football, but not the day after he'd just had a massive hangover the day before. He was finally feeling okay and he just wanted to relax. What made it worse was that it meant spending the day with Sasuke. It was bad enough that Sasuke had left the party with no explanation, he had a feeling there was a lot Sasuke wasn't telling him. He tried to brush it off and act natural, but it was difficult at times.</p>
<p>"We'd better get ready I guess," Naruto said as he forced himself out of bed. Sasuke nodded, but didn't seem happy about the situation.</p>
<p>Sasuke took over the bathroom, so Naruto figured he'd just change in the room. He didn't care if Sasuke walked in on him, after all they were both guys and he was rather proud of his body. He was almost dressed when the bathroom door opened. The blonde stopped his actions as his and Sasuke's eyes met.</p>
<p>"You can stop stripping in the middle of the room, the bathroom is open," Sasuke said as his eyes looked over Naruto's bare chest.</p>
<p>Naruto smirked as he saw Sasuke's reaction, "Why, we're both guys right?" He stepped forward a bit, "So if I want to strip in the middle of the room I should be able to strip right?"</p>
<p>"Doesn't mean that I want to see you naked," Sasuke argued as he made himself look away. As annoying as he found Naruto at times, even he couldn't deny that he found him attractive.</p>
<p>"Then don't look," he shrugged as he walked away and continued to get dressed, surprised, and yet pleased, by the reaction he got from Sasuke.</p>
<p>Sasuke tried to keep his eyes on anything but the blonde as he felt his cheeks heat a little from what Naruto said. He was right; if he didn't want to see it then he shouldn't look. However, it was easier said than done when his roommate was stupidly attractive. "We should head over to Kiba's," he tried to change the subject.</p>
<p>"He said twenty minutes," he pointed out.</p>
<p>"I'm sure his roommate is there," Sasuke glared as he grabbed his keys and phone and shoved them into his pocket.</p>
<p>"Fine let's go," Naruto sighed and grabbed his things before leaving the room. He wasn’t in the mood to argue with Sasuke.</p>
<p>"What room is he in?" Sasuke asked. Naruto didn't answer, forcing Sasuke to follow him and pissing him off in the process.</p>
<p>They walked the short distance to Kiba’s dorm room in silence but Naruto could tell Sasuke was annoyed with him. When they got to the room Naruto knocked on the door, knowing that Sasuke was probably right but part of him hoping he wasn’t so he could say I told you so if Shino wasn’t in the room. A few moments later Shino answered, also wearing the bright red shirt, which made Naruto smile.</p>
<p>"They got you too," Naruto more stated than asked as Shino let them in.</p>
<p>"Unfortunately," he confirmed.</p>
<p>"Who else?" Naruto asked as they walked into the room.</p>
<p>"I think they signed up more Sasuke's friends, as well as Shikamaru, Ino, Sakura, Neji and Gaara. And I'm sure they are recruiting more," Shino answered.</p>
<p>"In other words their friends and their roommates," Sasuke added.</p>
<p>"Probably," Shino nodded.</p>
<p>"I wish I could see Gaara's face when they try to force him," Naruto laughed.</p>
<p>"Me too," Sasuke smirked, knowing how the redhead could be.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Sasuke couldn't believe they had gotten a team together and that they were walking to the football field. Sasuke walked behind the rest of the group that Kiba and Suigetsu had gathered which Suigetsu noticed and immediately started walking with him, "Is something wrong?"</p>
<p>Sasuke paused before answering, as if looking for the right words, "I don't know. You can keep a secret, right?" He slowed down a little bit more as if he were concerned about anyone in the group hearing what he was about to say.</p>
<p>He looked at him in disbelief as he slowed his pace to match Sasuke’s, "You know I can." He paused before looking at him, slightly worried, "What is it?"</p>
<p>Sasuke was unsure if he should say anything considering how drunk the blonde was the other night, but it was bothering him and he knew he could trust Suigetsu. "Well, the other night when Naruto was drunk, something happened and I feel awkward now," he admitted. Suigetsu could tell how uncomfortable, and slightly nervous, Sasuke was by the way he ran his hands through his hair.</p>
<p>"Did you two kiss?" Suigetsu grinned dumbly, causing Sasuke to smack him on the back of the head.</p>
<p>"Where the hell did that come from?" he asked as he glared at him, with his cheeks slightly flushed.</p>
<p>"Don't tell me you don't think he's hot, I've known you for years, I know your type," Suigetsu laughed causing Sasuke to turn away to try to get his blush under control.</p>
<p>"Shut up," he growled. "It wasn't anything like that." In a way, the fact that Naruto crawled into his bed almost felt more intimate than him kissing him, but he wasn’t about to tell that to Suigetsu. He blushed a little just remembering the incident. He’d be lying if he said it hadn’t turned him on at least a little bit.</p>
<p>"It just sounded like that was what you were going to say," Suigetsu teased. He knew Sasuke’s tells and it was clear that something happened between him and Naruto that night.</p>
<p>"Well it wasn't," Sasuke took a deep breath regaining his composure. "It doesn't matter anyway; he was drunk, I'm sure he didn't know what he was saying."</p>
<p>"What'd he say?" Suigetsu said interested as to what could make Sasuke feel so awkward. It wasn’t easy to visibly rile him up in such a way. He usually kept a strong façade of indifference.</p>
<p>"He called me hot and he said I had soft hair," Sasuke sighed. "It's nothing I'm sure."</p>
<p>“He touched your hair?” Suigetsu laughed, to which Sasuke glared. "Calm down, every straight girl and gay guy thinks you're at least a little hot," he shrugged nonchalantly.</p>
<p>"Naruto's gay?" Sasuke's eyes widened. He felt his brain short circuit for a moment at the news that his hot roommate was gay.</p>
<p>Suigetsu stopped talking for a moment, realizing it was not his place to say anything, "Forget I said anything." The problem was that Sasuke couldn't forget the newly obtained information.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Once they got to the football felid, Sasuke asked, "How did you get this many people in this short of time?" He was annoyed at his friend's persuasiveness.</p>
<p>"It was easy, we said Sasuke would be there and all the girls came, except Hinata came for Naruto," Suigetsu grinned, which made Sasuke want to smack him again.</p>
<p>"I hate you," Sasuke glared.</p>
<p>"Gaara came because we told him he might be able to see someone get hurt," Kiba explained.</p>
<p>"Great, now we have too many people," Naruto said. "Eleven make a team you moron."</p>
<p>"So one on the bench as coach and four cheerleaders," Kiba smiled at the girls.</p>
<p>"Who's on the bench?" Naruto asked.</p>
<p>"I will," Shikamaru gave a yawn, he hadn’t wanted to join in the first place so he was happy to just relax on the bench.</p>
<p>"There he can act as coach, it's perfect, he's smart," Kiba smiled and Naruto looked at him doubtfully.</p>
<p>When the sophomore team came, they found they had only ten people. "Our teams are uneven," Temari, Gaara's older sister and the sophomore captain said.</p>
<p>"Only ten of us will play then we’ll have even team," Kiba shrugged.</p>
<p>"Have one of yours come to our side," she ordered.</p>
<p>"Fine pick one," he said dumbly.</p>
<p>She smirked before pointing to Sasuke, "Come on duck butt."</p>
<p>"Not him," Naruto said, knowing he was a good athlete.</p>
<p>"Too late," she smiled. Sasuke gave them all a look that clearly said<em>'I hate you all'</em>as he walked to the other team. If looks could kill the sophomores would have won by default because the freshmen team would have been dead from the look Sasuke was giving them all.</p>
<p>Juugo, Neji, Suigetsu, Lee, Shino, Choji, Gaara, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sai all looked at Kiba as if he were a moron. It was no secret that Sasuke was good at pretty much anything he tried, sports included, and was one of the reasons Naruto claimed to hate him. It wasn’t fair to be <em>that</em> naturally gifted. "What, she always had a thing for Shikamaru before I thought she'd pick him," Kiba said with a huff.</p>
<p>"Well we can still cheer on Sasuke," Sakura said with a smile. Naruto just rolled his eyes knowing that at least he had Hinata on his side, even if Karin, Ino, and Sakura were there only for Sasuke. He knew that Sasuke wouldn't go easy on him because he was far too competitive for that, in fact he’d probably enjoy bringing down the people that forced him to be there. He felt a little bad for Kiba and Suigetsu, figuring they’d be the likely targets of Sasuke’s wrath.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>After an hour of playing, Naruto realized that he couldn't let Sasuke run with the ball because he was just too fast for them. "We need to stop Sasuke at all costs; he's who they're using right now," Naruto said to his team as they all agreed.</p>
<p>The down started and the ball was passed right to Sasuke. Naruto knew he had to tackle him right when he got the ball or he'd have no chance of catching him. He ran and leaped, happy not to make contact with the ground. He looked down to see Sasuke underneath him, which he found to be quite the sight. His black hair was spread out on the ground as his black eyes stared up at him, a mixture of annoyance and something Naruto couldn’t place.</p>
<p>Sasuke felt his heart race a little more as he looked up to see Naruto staring down at him with his piercing blue eyes. "Okay, I'm tackled, you can get off me now," he said as he tried to tame the blush that threatened his face. It was difficult when an attractive and gay blonde was straddling him. It seemed that with Naruto in the picture, he had been blushing more and more lately and he didn't know why, because it wasn't like him at all. He was not supposed to blush; he wasn't supposed to feel at all especially for someone like Naruto.</p>
<p>"Oh, right, sorry," Naruto grinned sheepishly as he quickly got up. He then helped Sasuke up but refused to look him in the eyes. Everyone stared at them as they came back to the game, but no one dared to say anything about what they had just witnessed. It was obvious there was some sort of tension between the two even if they didn’t want to admit it.</p>
<p>
  <strong>TBC...</strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So for anyone that has read the old version, it's not very different but does this seem like a better version so far? Let me know...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Bruises</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry this took so long!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sasuke leaned over the sink, half-naked as he stood in the bathroom. It was the day before classes started and he was trying to find some peace and quiet. Ever since Suigetsu and Kiba became friends they dragged him and Naruto everywhere. He knew that they were trying to get them to be friends too but so far it wasn’t working. He didn't want to be friends, he had enough friends and it worried him that he felt any kind of attraction towards Naruto. In short, Sasuke felt that he didn't need to be hanging out with him more than was necessary.</p>
<p>Attraction was something new to him. Sasuke usually didn't let people close enough to him to feel anything. In fact, he had made it his goal to not let people close to him. He had told himself years ago that if he never let anyone in then he could never be hurt by anyone else. He didn't think that he had let Naruto close, yet he was making him blush and his heart race a little faster.</p>
<p>Sasuke splashed water on his face, as if it would wash away all his thoughts and worries. "Damn it," he said to himself as he looked into the mirror. He could still see the bruises Orochimaru left, though they were fading a little, they were easy to see on his pale skin. He wished they would just go away. He thought that maybe if the bruises disappeared, he could actually forget what happened, he could finally make his face vanish from his memory. Deep down he knew the fear would ever go away. That kind of trauma didn’t disappear just because the bruises faded.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Naruto walked into the room, annoyed to no end. He just wanted to take a shower because he felt so disgusting. <em>"Pay back's a bitch,"</em> Kiba had said as he showed him the video or "blackmail" he'd taken on his phone of Naruto getting drunk at the party the other night. There was video of him dancing on tables, dancing with random people, making out with random people and the entire time Kiba was laughing.</p>
<p>Kiba’s only response was, <em>"Hey at least I didn't let people do worse." </em>All Naruto could think was that he probably did do worse; Kiba just didn't <em>show</em> him anything worse.</p>
<p>The blonde didn't hear the shower running, so he didn't bother knocking, even though he didn't see Sasuke in the room. He seen they guys that they share a bathroom with, Chouji and Shikamaru, on his way to the room and he figured Sasuke was with his friends. Thinking that it was logical in his head, he opened the door to see Sasuke staring back. Naruto's eyes widened as he stared at Sasuke's chest. His eyes wandered down his chest, not only looking the muscles he’d gained from years of playing sports, but the bruises that seemed perfectly placed so he could hide it under his clothing. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he asked, "Why are you all bruised up?"</p>
<p>"Why don't you knock?" Sasuke replied with a glare as he put on his shirt. He wouldn’t admit that it was really his fault Naruto was able to get in the bathroom since he didn’t lock the door on their side. He looked over and confirmed he’d locked the other door; he wasn’t sure how he missed theirs.</p>
<p>Naruto couldn't help but think that if Sasuke's chest weren't bruised it would look <em>very</em> nice. "I didn't think anyone was in here," Naruto answered weakly as he stared at Sasuke. He was still waiting for an answer to his question, wondering why Sasuke just ignored it in the first place. His mind was spinning at all of the possibilities.</p>
<p>"Well, you were wrong," he said as he brushed past him, angrily. "Try knocking next time," he mumbled as he started to walk away.</p>
<p>Naruto caught his arm and angrily pulled him to look at him, "Wait a minute, are you going to answer my question."</p>
<p>Sasuke seemed to freak out for a moment at the simple touch; he looked frightened like a wild animal trapped in a cage. It wasn’t as if Naruto’s grip was tight so he wasn’t sure what would make him react in such a way. "I don't think it's really any of your business, but I got bruised up playing football the other day," Sasuke claimed with a straight face once he calmed down.</p>
<p>"Why don't I believe you?" Naruto asked with a frown as Sasuke pulled his arm away from the blonde.</p>
<p>"As I said, it's really none of your business anyway," Sasuke said, seeming extra distant as he held his arm where Naruto had grabbed. While on the outside he stood his ground, Naruto could tell by the look in his eyes that he was ready to bolt at any minute.</p>
<p>"The hell it isn't, I'm your roommate," Naruto yelled. An irrational part of him made him want to tear apart anything, or anyone, that had caused bruises. They were all fading, but he couldn’t help but notice how some looked old and were much more faded while others looked like they were more recent.</p>
<p>"Exactly, you're my roommate, not my friend," Sasuke snapped back before walking out of the room. Naruto realized that he must have hit a sensitive subject. It just made him all the more curious about what had happened to the young Uchiha.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>"Sasuke's not here right?" Naruto asked as he arrived back at Kiba's room after his shower.</p>
<p>"No, why?" Kiba asked. Suigetsu looked at him interested in what the blonde would say about him.</p>
<p>"The guy is such a jerk!" Naruto yelled as he pushed his way out and sat down.</p>
<p>“Please come in, make yourself at home,” Kiba said sarcastically.</p>
<p>Suigetsu looked at him with disapproval, which made him stop talking for some reason. Naruto didn’t bother to delve deeper on that subject but wondered if Suigetsu had some magical power he didn’t know about to make Kiba shut up. "What'd he do?" Suigetsu asked with am exasperated sigh.</p>
<p>"He didn't have the shower on so I walked in the bathroom thinking no one was in there and he was shirtless and he angry. Then I saw the bruises so I asked him about it and he got even worse and said I wasn't his friend and shit like that," Naruto explained with a huff. “It’s not my fault he didn’t lock the door.”</p>
<p>"You saw his bruises?" Suigetsu's eyes widened.</p>
<p>"They aren't from football, are they?" Naruto asked, finding that he was genuinely concerned and angry at the same time.</p>
<p>"I should go," Suigetsu said quickly as he stood up, quickly recognizing his error.</p>
<p>"Oh, no you don't," Kiba said as he and Naruto pushed him back and forced him to sit down.</p>
<p>"I can't talk about it," Suigetsu looked down. He felt like he was betraying Sasuke just saying that much. Sasuke had trusted him with more information than he’d ever told anyone else and the fact that they now knew it wasn’t from football felt like the biggest betrayal of Sasuke’s trust.</p>
<p>"The bruises are not really from football are they?" Naruto asked.</p>
<p>"Why do you care?" Suigetsu asked defensively. "If he said they were from football, then they were," Suigetsu felt like he needed to get out of the room as quickly as possible before he said something stupid.</p>
<p>"He's my roommate," Naruto sighed, knowing it wasn’t the best reason, but it was all he could come up with at the moment. "And those were not football bruises, answer me truthfully."</p>
<p>Suigetsu sighed as looked down before answering, "Would I have known about what bruises you were talking about if they were from football?" It was perhaps one of the dumbest things he could have said. He should have just walked away like a good friend.</p>
<p>Naruto frowned, hearing the answer that he didn't want to hear. "Then what are they from?" he asked weakly.</p>
<p>"I can't answer that, it's not my place to tell you," Suigetsu replied. "You'll have to ask him. However, know he is how he is for a reason and a good one. He just doesn't trust people." The look on Naruto’s face let him know that he did indeed say something he shouldn’t have; he revealed far more than Sasuke would have wanted.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Naruto and Sasuke sat in their room, silent and tense. Sasuke refused to talk to the blonde after what happened. He didn't want to be asked about his bruises again and to have to explain the truth. "I don't get why you won't tell me the truth," Naruto said.</p>
<p>"Excuse me?" Sasuke hissed. He wasn’t ready to talk about it with anyone else. He still hadn’t even told his therapist, whom he rarely saw, the reasons for his behavior. He knew people would report it and it would only make it worse on him. It didn’t matter if he didn’t live there anymore, Orochimaru would find a way to get revenge.</p>
<p>"Suigetsu already let it slip that those bruises aren't from football," Naruto explained as calmly as he could.</p>
<p>"And did he say what they <em>are </em>from?" Sasuke asked angrily.</p>
<p>"No, he said to ask you," Naruto frowned. "He's a better friend than to tell about something than you obviously don't want to talk about." Naruto tried to remain calm, not wanting to scare Sasuke and have him run away again.</p>
<p>"Why do you care?" Sasuke questioned. Naruto was blocking the door, causing Sasuke to feel vulnerable and a little trapped. Sasuke would rather talk about literally anything else, including his physical attraction towards the blonde, over talking about the bruises.</p>
<p>"Because I'd like to think that if I were getting bruises from somewhere, someone would care," Naruto said.</p>
<p>"I thought that you hated me," Sasuke said but refused to look at him.</p>
<p>"It takes too much effort," Naruto smiled, hoping it might encourage him to open up and tell him the truth.</p>
<p>Sasuke looked at Naruto and felt his heart rate speed up. He shook his head as he realized what was going on, "Damn it. Just stay away from me."</p>
<p>"What I thought we were making progress again," Naruto said confused.</p>
<p>"That's the problem," Sasuke said as he put his headphones on, ending the conversation.</p>
<p>Naruto was confused, one minute Sasuke could be completely cool and it seemed like they could potentially be friend and then the next minute he was pushing him away and acting as if he was his enemy. He couldn't understand why Sasuke wouldn't let himself get close enough to him to be his friend. He knew there had to be a reason, one that Suigetsu knew and Sasuke seemed to desperately try to hide from everyone.</p>
<p>Naruto looked at Sasuke and frowned. One thing that he was certain of was that the bruises had something to do with his behavior. He knew that he had to act normal if he was going to have any change of learning the truth and if he and Sasuke were ever going to be friends. Part of him didn't even care about being Sasuke's friend, that part just wanted to find the journal he knew that he kept and read everything that was going on with him. It was almost an animalistic need to know so he could destroy whatever was causing Sasuke’s pain. Naruto knew that just reading Sasuke's journal would be wrong, but since Sasuke wasn't telling him anything it was becoming a tempting choice.</p>
<p>
  <strong>TBC...</strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Let me know what you think</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. School</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was bright and early on Tuesday morning as Sasuke sat outside the classroom door waiting for the professor to show up to his class. Most people though 8:30 a.m. was too early to take any class, let alone what they classified as a boring class, which is why he picked it. He didn’t think Business 101 would be <em>that</em> boring and it allowed him to take a class that was less full so he didn’t mind the early morning class.</p>
<p>The only problem with the class in that moment was that it was the only class that he took with Suigetsu. Sasuke was still mad at him and was trying to avoid his so called best friend at all costs. He refused to answer his calls and text and pretended not to be in the room the one time he showed up at his dorm. It was the first day of the class and they promised they'd take it together so that they could help each other if needed. However Sasuke was starting to think that he wanted nothing to do with him if all he was going to do was tell his stupid roommate things he didn't want known.</p>
<p>"Can I sit here?" Suigetsu asked nervously as Sasuke looked up from his place on the ground. The raven just glared as he looked away and the light haired teen sat next to him. "Please just talk to me Sasuke."</p>
<p>"Why should I?" he hissed, still refusing to make any eye contact. He had pulled his knees to his chest as if to protect him from potential danger. Suigetsu knew it was something he did when he was feeling vulnerable and hurt. </p>
<p>"You're my best friend," Suigetsu pleaded. He hated seeing Sasuke in such a state; especially knowing he was the one that caused the inner turmoil.</p>
<p>"That's what I thought, but then you told that moron," Sasuke said in a tone that was both angry and weak. He was mad but vulnerable at the same time. "I trusted you," he practically whispered.</p>
<p>Suigetsu looked around to make sure they were still out of hearing range from everyone else. The last thing he wanted was for someone to over hear them and have Sasuke even more upset. "He saw them so I figured you would have told him," Suigetsu admitted. "I'm sorry. I know it was stupid, but all I said was that they weren't from football, I didn't tell him the story."</p>
<p>Sasuke looked at him, trying to decide if he should trust him or not. "You shouldn't have said anything," he sighed, though he still didn’t let his guard down.</p>
<p>Suigetsu smiled, knowing that him talking to him at all was a good sign, "I know." Sasuke nodded and Suigetsu felt happy because even if it weren’t spoken, he knew that they had come to an understanding again. He knew he wasn't going to lose his best friend and Sasuke knew that he could trust Suigetsu still.</p>
<p>Heavy footsteps pulled the two out of their moment. Their professor was walking down the hall, Sasuke couldn't remember his name at the moment, but the face looked oddly familiar. He had round glasses and his light hair in a ponytail. He gave them a smile as he passed Sasuke and Suigetsu in the hall, something about it sent chills down the raven's spine. Behind the professor was a man who was all too familiar; it was then that Sasuke knew where he'd seen him before.</p>
<p>"He's one of Orochimaru's guys," he said quietly as he locked eyes with his guardian. A wicked smirk was on the elder man's face the entire time. Sasuke felt like he was going to have a panic attack and tried to take calming breaths as he broke eye contact.</p>
<p>"I knew something was off about him," Suigetsu said. "Sasuke we can still drop the class without it affecting our GPA," he suggested, knowing it would probably be in Sasuke’s best interest mentally if they didn’t take the class.</p>
<p>"Just let him win?" Sasuke hissed. He glared at the door Orochimaru and their professor had just walked in, wishing it were all just a bad dream. "No way, I'm done with being afraid of him, I'm going to show him he doesn't control me," Sasuke stated, though his voice waivered a little. They both knew it wouldn’t be that easy. Years of abuse couldn’t be brushed off just because he wanted to be strong enough to face the man without fear.</p>
<p>"But I don't want you to do anything stupid because he's in your life, you were making progress," Suigetsu said as he put a hand on his shoulder.</p>
<p>"What are you now my therapist? Just shut up," he said as he brushed the hand off and got up before walking into the classroom. Suigetsu frowned and followed him into the room, taking a seat next to his best friend.</p>
<p>"Good morning class, as you can see I have written my name on the board, but you can call me Professor Kabuto," he smiled as he handed out their syllabus. "As you can see we have the President of Sound Incorporated with us and he will be our guest speaker this semester. You are all very lucky, he is a brilliant man and will help teach you a lot."</p>
<p>Sasuke rolled is eyes and wanted to laugh at the man's words, as he whispered to Suigetsu, "Yeah right." His eyes continually drifted back to Orochimaru as Kabuto talked about the class. Each time he looked over he found the man’s eyes directly on him as if he were ready to attack. It was extremely unsettling, but he had made up his mind that he wasn’t going to let the man win, even if it meant the semester would feel extremely long.</p>
<p>By the time class was over Sasuke wanted to get as far away from the classroom and Orochimaru as possible. However, Orochimaru had other plans and blocked his way, "Hello Sasuke."</p>
<p>"What do you want?" he growled as Suigetsu tried to calm him down, reminding them where they were and that he can’t hurt him with so many people around.</p>
<p>"I thought you'd be happy to see me," he smiled knowingly. "I mean I did tell you I'd be seeing you."</p>
<p>"Go to hell," Sasuke said as he pushed his way out of the classroom, needing to get away. He didn’t run, but he was walking much faster than necessary.</p>
<p>"Way to stay calm," Suigetsu said sarcastically as he caught up to Sasuke.</p>
<p>"Shut up," he frowned. He knew he shouldn't have went off on him like that, it only gave him the satisfaction of knowing he got under his skin. He didn’t want to be affected, but it was impossible when the man he thought he was rid of showed up as a guest speaker in his class.</p>
<p>"Just go to your next class and forget all about it, okay?" he gave reassuring smile.</p>
<p>"Yeah okay," Sasuke nodded. The tone in his voice told Suigetsu he was not in a good place, but he knew there was no way he’d be able to talk Sasuke out of taking the class.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Math 124, the basic level math class that all subjects had to take and the class Sasuke was waiting outside of at 11:30. "You're in my class?" he heard from the side of him.</p>
<p>He turned to see the owner of the voice was no other than Naruto, his roommate. Instead of responding he just continued to face forward and stare at the wall ahead of him, he was not in the mood to deal with Naruto at the moment. With everything that had happened that morning he just wanted to be alone.</p>
<p>"Sasuke, come on talk to me," he smiled as he sat down next to Sasuke, finding that he was acting weirder than usual.</p>
<p>"Go away," he sighed. "I'm not in the mood to deal with you today."</p>
<p>"Oh come on, we have to be friends again eventually," he smiled.</p>
<p>"There's a problem with that sentence," Sasuke pointed out. "We were never friends to begin with, remember?" He didn't feel like being nice, he just wanted the blonde to get away from him so he could think about his earlier class and what he could do about Orochimaru.</p>
<p>"Then lets start now," Naruto grinned. Sasuke thought it would be best to ignore the blonde idiot, however that proved to be useless as he just kept talking. "Seriously just because I saw some bruises you're going to ignore me?"</p>
<p>"You don't know when to shut up do you?" Sasuke asked as he glared at the blonde, making him shut up immediately. His silence was short lived, as expected.</p>
<p>"I can pretend I didn't see, you don't have to explain them to me unless you feel comfortable," Naruto said. He was trying to earn his trust, but it only seemed to be making Sasuke more annoyed.</p>
<p>"Just stop it," he growled as Naruto continued.</p>
<p>"We don't even have to be good friends, just the type that tolerate each other," Naruto continued, making Sasuke's eyebrow start to twitch in annoyance.</p>
<p>"Will it shut you up?" he asked, his voice showing his annoyance level.</p>
<p>"Probably not," he smiled. There was something oddly fun about annoying the other man. He couldn’t explain it but he found it kind of hot when he got angry. He figured it was probably because it meant he was at least showing some sort of emotion and not just a stoic asshole.</p>
<p>"Go away," he sighed, rubbing he temple to sooth his headache, wishing he'd brought his headphones so he could have just tuned him out.</p>
<p>"Come on," Naruto smiled, trying to convince Sasuke just to give him a chance. "So what's your favorite movie?"</p>
<p>"Moron," Sasuke rolled his eyes, finding that Naruto annoying him was actually making him feel better. He didn’t understand why the blonde has such an effect on him, nor did he care to analyze it too closely. He found it unsettling how easy it was for him to adjust around Naruto - it was weird that being around him didn’t feel weird at all.</p>
<p>"You know you want to answer the question," he grinned before bugging Sasuke into answering his questions until class started.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>"Sasuke?" Naruto called as they sat in their dorm room. Each was on their own beds doing their homework. Naruto stared at the page as if it might as well have been written in a different language.</p>
<p>"What?" he looked up at the blonde.</p>
<p>"Have you done problem ten yet?" he asked. Naruto hated professors who gave homework the first week, let alone the first day, especially subjects like math. He wished homework just ended once you were out of high school but, unfortunately, it didn’t. The only difference was they used the term “assignment” rather than “homework” in college.</p>
<p>"I'm done with math," he said in a bored tone.</p>
<p>"I don't get it," the blonde whined, making the other teen roll his eyes for what felt like the millionth time that day.</p>
<p>"Look in the book," he said, causing the blonde to frown.</p>
<p>"Friends are supposed to help friends," Naruto said.</p>
<p>"I told you, we aren't friends," he stated harshly.</p>
<p>"Just help me, you know like a tutor," he said as, causing Sasuke to sigh, knowing he would just be bothered until he agreed. Sasuke walked over to help him, sitting next to him on Naruto’s bed. He started explaining the problem, but all Naruto could concentrate on was his face. He had always hated him partly because everyone loved his looks, but he never<em>really</em>looked at him. He always knew his roommate was hot, but up close he was truly gorgeous. It made him want to get a<em>good</em>look at the rest of his body, even if it was bruised.</p>
<p>"Naruto," Sasuke called his name, pulling the blonde back to reality. He knew that he shouldn't be thinking about all of the naughty things he wanted to do to him. It was wrong and completely superficial considering he’d always thought that he hated him almost his entire life.</p>
<p>"Sorry," Naruto smiled. "I spaced out I guess, can you repeat that?"</p>
<p>"I'm not going to help you if you just space out when I do," he glared with a sigh before he started to repeat what he said. Naruto made sure to pay attention to his words this time, so that he would not anger him and end up not having any help with math for the semester. After all he couldn't say 'Sorry I was thinking about how hot you are' or ‘Sorry I was thinking about all the things I want to do to you on this bed’ because he didn't really think that would go over too well with Sasuke.</p>
<p>The blonde decided to start out small and gain his trust. However, if all else failed, he knew there was always the journal hidden in the room. He wanted to know what the bruises were from, but more importantly he wanted Sasuke to tell him. He would find out either way by the end of the semester, or at least by the end of the two semesters together, it was his mission.</p>
<p>
  <strong>TBC...</strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Let me know what you think :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Day Dream</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Naruto wasn't sure why there was a change in Sasuke's demeanor, but he seemed fine a few days after what Naruto was calling "the bathroom incident." He noticed how Sasuke seemed off after his morning class, the same class he knew he took on Tuesday morning when he had seemed so closed off. He knew Sasuke’s clam attitude was probably a façade, but they at least seemed to be back to being somewhat friends.</p>
<p>"Sasuke!" Naruto called as he walked into the room after his class that afternoon. He threw his books onto the bed before laying down on it as well. It always amazed him how exhausted he was after class.</p>
<p>"You don't have to yell, I'm right here," Sasuke said, walking out of the bathroom, obviously annoyed.</p>
<p>"Just making sure you were here," Naruto grinned as he sat up. He couldn't help but feel disappointed that Sasuke didn't walk out of the bathroom shirtless. He watched the water drop roll down his neck and into his shirt, almost like he was hypnotized by it.</p>
<p>"Are you even listening to me?" Sasuke said angrily.</p>
<p>"What?" Naruto snapped out of it as he looked at Sasuke, scolding himself for ogling Sasuke.</p>
<p>"I asked, why you need me here?" Sasuke repeated, though Naruto swore he hadn't said it earlier.</p>
<p>"I need my tutor," Naruto smiled.<em>'My hot tutor,'</em>He couldn't help but think. But it wasn't news to him that he found Sasuke hot, it would be a problem if at anytime he found himself attracted on a deeper level. He had already admitted to himself he found Sasuke very confusing, but he wouldn’t let himself think about why his relationship with Sasuke was confusing. He refused to acknowledge the possibility that he may like him for more than just his looks.</p>
<p>"Hold on, let me at least dry my hair," Sasuke said as he grabbed his towel from the bathroom. He didn't bother brushing his hair once it was semi-dry, Naruto had never seen him with his hair so out of place and he couldn't help but like it. It showed a more relaxed side to Sasuke. Naruto found the disheveled state hot and wondered if that was what he would look like after sex.</p>
<p>"What do you want to start with?" Sasuke asked as he sat on the bed next to Naruto, leaning back against the wall. Naruto had started to ask Sasuke's help with all the subjects that Sasuke could, as he was looking to raise his grades and Sasuke was undeniably one of the smartest people that he knew.</p>
<p>"Let's just start with math," Naruto said, trying to hold his composure and not think about the guy in front of him or what it would feel like to push the books aside and pull Sasuke into his lap. It was fine to be curious about him, but he would not let himself go so far as to start liking him. They were roommates; it would be one-sided and awkward. Based on how Sasuke acted, Naruto had no reason to like him. The problem was that he knew there was an attraction there, even if it was just physical.</p>
<p>Naruto just listened to what Sasuke said, mostly watching his mouth move. He wondered how soft those lips would be to kiss. He didn't really know what he was saying and he really didn't care. Naruto’s body seemed to move on its own as he cut him off with a kiss. Sasuke looked shocked at first but he quickly responded and pulled the blonde closer to him. Naruto pushed the books off the bed, making papers fly everywhere.</p>
<p>For someone who hadn't wanted to be touched not that long ago, he was responding well to Naruto's touch. Naruto had Sasuke pinned to the bed as he kissed him, running one of his hands through the raven's damp hair. Sasuke was only encouraging him further as he ran his fingers down Naruto's back.</p>
<p>Sasuke turned them over, straddling him and Naruto couldn't help but think it was the perfect sight. Naruto pulled him down into another kiss, which Sasuke happily returned. He broke the kiss to start kiss his neck as he grinded against him, earning a pleased look on the usually emotionless face.</p>
<p>"You're not even paying attention are you?" Sasuke asked, once again annoyed.</p>
<p>Naruto snapped out of it, realizing the papers were still on the bed, Sasuke was not straddling him, and Sasuke was giving him an annoyed look. This was probably because he was far too close for his liking and because he had indeed not been paying attention. He wasn’t sure which annoyed Sasuke more.</p>
<p>All Naruto could think was that he had been lucky with the way he was sitting. The blonde had a book on his lap, it was uncomfortable for the boner he was currently sporting but it was also making it so Sasuke couldn’t see said boner. He was trying to will it away, but it was fairly insistent about what it wanted. It certainly didn’t help that his mind kept drifting back to the thought of Sasuke straddling him. “So that didn't really happen?" Naruto asked dumbly. He hadn't meant to say it out loud, but he did.</p>
<p>"What are you talking about? And why are you so close to me?" Sasuke asked, thinking that maybe Naruto would answer his other questions since he didn't answer his first one.</p>
<p>"Well, first off, no I wasn't paying attention," Naruto said, looking at the ground. He was trying to find the answer to the other questions. He knew the other answer, but that didn't mean that he wanted to give that to Sasuke. He couldn't tell him that he was daydreaming about him in a sexual manner.</p>
<p>"And my other questions?" Sasuke asked.</p>
<p>"I was day dreaming, about aliens," Naruto tried. "I guess it was more of a day nightmare, so you know I was close for protection." It was a terrible lie and Sasuke didn't seem to buy it, but he didn't push it anymore.</p>
<p>"Whatever," He just shook his head. "Just pay attention or I won't help you anymore." Naruto knew it was an empty threat, he never paid attention but Sasuke kept helping him.</p>
<p>"Can we try this later when I'm more focused?" Naruto asked, knowing he needed to get away. He had finally gotten his erection to calm down enough that it wasn’t completely noticeable, but he knew he needed to get out of there before he did something he’d regret.</p>
<p>"Hn, whatever," Sasuke said as the blonde practically ran out of the room. Sasuke shook his head and muttered to himself, “What the fuck was that about?”</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Kiba heard banging on his door, repeatedly and he knew it could only be one person. Only one person would be so persistent in getting him to open the door. "I'm coming, I'm coming," he said as he went to open the door. "What?" he asked while opening the door, only to be shoved aside by a certain blonde friend of his.</p>
<p>"I need to get out of my room," Naruto said and he knew it was a Sasuke problem. Ever since they roomed together it was always a Sasuke problem. Even before they roomed together the guy made Naruto's emotions boil, now it was only amplified.</p>
<p>"What happened?" Kiba sat down, knowing this was going to be a long conversation.</p>
<p>"It's embarrassing," Naruto mumbled, now making Kiba actually interested. There wasn't much that actually embarrassed the blonde; he would do just about anything. He had to hear what would actually embarrass him.</p>
<p>"Come on, tell me," Kiba laughed at his friends predicament.</p>
<p>"I had a day dream about him," He mumbled, looking away. They both knew that he didn’t need to elaborate on what kind of daydream, nor did Kiba want to know the details.</p>
<p>"Excuse me?" Kiba asked, not believing the words coming out of his mouth. "What's embarrassing about that?"</p>
<p>"He was right fucking next to me!" Naruto yelled in frustration.</p>
<p>"So what happened?" Kiba laughed, enjoying Naruto's situation.</p>
<p>"Don't make it worse, don't make me relive it," Naruto sighed.</p>
<p>"It's not my fault you like him," Kiba shrugged as he lay back on his bed.</p>
<p>"I don't like him, I just find him hot. I've told you that I don't know how many times," Naruto said, obviously flustered. Kiba looked at him skeptically, knowing that Naruto didn't even truly convince himself either.</p>
<p>"Look, I know I don't ask Hinata out, but at least I don't deny that I like her," Kiba said, ending that conversation. Naruto didn't want to talk about Sasuke anymore, that might mean admitting a lot more than he's ready to admit when it comes to the raven.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Sasuke looked at the ceiling as he lay on his bed. His mind drifted to Naruto, he wasn't sure why but he couldn't think of anything but him. For some reason the blonde being so close to him had affected him much more than he cared to admit. He knew that he found Naruto attractive, but that shouldn't have made him react in the way it did. When his face was so close Sasuke found desire to kiss him, which was terrifying.</p>
<p>'<em>Calm down and just stop thinking about him. Maybe I should find a reason to stop tutoring him, if this is going to be the result. I can't have him taking over my thoughts. Damn it I sound like I actually like him, but I don't, I can't. I won't allow that to happen,'</em>Sasuke thought to himself. He let out a sigh, it felt like his mind was running a million miles an hour, with every thought being about Naruto,<em>'I can't just stop tutoring him, that will seem suspicious. But I need to just stop having any feelings whatsoever toward him. He's annoying, childish, and everything I hate. I can barely tolerate him, I just have to remind myself that.'</em></p>
<p>Sasuke rolled over on his stomach, pulling his pillow under his head. He let out another sigh, wishing he had felt more convinced that he could just stop thinking about Naruto in that way. He had found ways to distract himself from thinking about Orochimaru when he wasn't in class, but with the frequency that he sees Naruto he wasn't sure that it was possible for him to distract himself from thinking about the blonde.</p>
<p>
  <strong>TBC…?</strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Let me know what you think :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. After Class</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Trigger warning for abuse in this one.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Naruto looked at Sasuke getting ready for class, he couldn't help but think that something was missing. Sasuke was doing his normal routine that much he was sure of, not that he had it memorized, but something was out of place. Then it dawned on him, "Where's Suigetsu?" The two had a habit of hanging out before class ever since the first day of classes.</p>
<p>"He's sick," was Sasuke's simple yet somehow shaky reply. He didn't look at him for some odd reason. He had been quieter than usual and it was a little concerning. Sasuke was already a quiet person, but that morning he might as well have been mute.</p>
<p>"Oh," Naruto said. He didn't know what else to say to his roommate. He found him to be a puzzle that was impossible to figure out no matter how hard he tried. "Well, I'll see you in math, I'm heading over to Kiba's."</p>
<p>"There's no way that he'll be up right now," Sasuke said as the blonde grabbed his things for math, knowing he'd be there until he had to go to the class.</p>
<p>"I know, that's half the fun," he grinned, causing Sasuke to shake his head. Naruto walked out the door laughing. He walked over to Kiba and Shino's room, knowing that Shino was bound to be up at this hour, he was an early riser like Sasuke. The difference was that Kiba could sleep through anything and Shino was a lot more thoughtful of the fact that his roommate was sleeping than Sasuke ever was so Naruto had gotten used to getting up at the same time as Sasuke. The blonde knocked on the door, waiting for Shino to answer.</p>
<p>Once the door opened Shino immediately said, "He's sleeping."</p>
<p>"Doesn't mean I can't wake him up," Naruto grinned, Shino didn't even try to argue and just let him in. He may be thoughtful and not wake him up himself, but he didn’t seem to care if Naruto woke him up.</p>
<p>"Wake up, buddy," Naruto said as he started jumping on Kiba's bed next to him, eventually sitting on his best friend.</p>
<p>"Come on moron, you're heavy," Kiba said in a half awake voice. "And you're going to break my bed."</p>
<p>"Are you calling me fat?" Naruto said in fake anger. "I'm offended."</p>
<p>"I'm not awake enough for this Naruto," Kiba groaned in an annoyed voice.</p>
<p>"That's why it's fun," Naruto laughed, causing Kiba to push him off and onto the floor.</p>
<p>"You dick, that hurt," he rubbed his shoulder while he got up off the floor. He was probably being a little dramatic, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. He probably deserved it and would have done the same to Kiba if he’d woken him up, but that wasn’t the point.</p>
<p>"Serves you right," Kiba said as he sat up, glaring at the blonde in front of him.</p>
<p>"That look doesn't scare me, you should see the ones that Sasuke gives me," he smiled, quickly getting over the fall.</p>
<p>"Must you find a way to bring Sasuke into every conversation?" Kiba asked as he rubbed is eyes, trying to wake up. It was far too early to hear Naruto go on about Sasuke. He needed an energy drink or something before he could deal with Naruto’s obsession with the other teen.</p>
<p>"I do not," Naruto denied, not even realizing he'd been doing it.</p>
<p>"Yeah you do," Shino agreed. He’d had to listen to numerous conversations about Sasuke whenever Naruto came to their room.</p>
<p>"Who asked you?" Naruto glared.</p>
<p>"Would you just make-out with him, or fuck him, or whatever it is you want to do with him, and get it over with so I stop having to hear about him?" Kiba asked. "Either that or I'll bring up Hinata in every conversation."</p>
<p>"Fine, fine, I get it," Naruto said. "I won't bring up Sasuke the rest of the day,” he promised, raising his hands in mock defeat.</p>
<p>"You say that, but you don't even realize you do it," Kiba told him. He knew the blonde didn’t mean to always bring up Sasuke, but he always ended up talking about him in some way.</p>
<p>"He's got it bad," Shino observed, being usually talkative.</p>
<p>"What is this, pick on Naruto day?" Naruto huffed, annoyed with his friends.</p>
<p>"He hardly denies it anymore," Shino added to his observation.</p>
<p>"Shut up, I don't like him!" Naruto shouted. "You know what, you guys are mean, let’s get some other people to hang out with, maybe they won't pick on me," Naruto pouted like a five year old.</p>
<p>"If you bring up Sasuke they will," Kiba teased.</p>
<p>"Shut up, this conversation is over," Naruto huffed as he crossed his arms. He didn’t need to sit back and be teased about his roommate.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Naruto, Shino, Kiba, Gaara, Neji, Shikamaru, Chouji, Lee, and Sai were all sitting in Neji's room taking turns playing his x-box on the small TV in his dorm. Naruto was happy to finally get the concentration off of him and his alleged crush. No matter how much he told them it wasn’t a crush none of them seemed to believe him.</p>
<p>"So, dickless, ugly wants to know why you haven't talked to her lately," Sai said. Sai had once heard Kiba teasing him, saying that he must either have a tiny dick or no dick, which was how Sai had come up with the nickname. No matter how hard Naruto tried he couldn’t get Sai to come up with a different nickname or, better yet, just call him by his actual name.</p>
<p>"Dude you really have to come up with better names for people," Kiba said, knowing he was talking about Sakura. He didn’t particularly find Sakura to be attractive, but he knew better than to nickname a girl “ugly.”</p>
<p>"Sakura, how is my beautiful goddess," Lee practically shouted excitedly at the thought of the pink haired girl. He had had a weird obsession with her ever since they were kids but she never seemed to return his feelings.</p>
<p>"Who invited him?" Kiba asked quietly.</p>
<p>"Unfortunately he's my roommate," Neji sighed, not bothering to whisper. It was no secret that Lee was somewhat the outcast of the group, followed closely by Sai. Both of them were odd but they had somehow become a staple in their group. </p>
<p>"She's fine Lee but I didn't know she was yours," Sai said confused. While Sai did very well in school, he lacked in the department of social skills and understanding.</p>
<p>"She's not," Naruto laughed at Sai's misunderstanding.</p>
<p>"It's just his wishful thinking," Kiba added, but Lee didn't let that get him down.</p>
<p>"I will win her heart one day," he assured them, always the optimist of the group.</p>
<p>"You do that, buddy," Naruto laughed, somewhat happy that Sakura had someone that cared for her so much. He help but feel somewhat sorry for her because he was just a little too over the top about it. It was almost ironic that the guy was just as obsessed with her as she was with Sasuke.</p>
<p>"So Kiba, when are you going to ask Hinata out?" Chouji asked, trying to distract him while they played against each other.</p>
<p>"When blondie over there admits he likes Sasuke," Kiba grinned, knowing his friends wouldn't let him live it down.</p>
<p>"What?" Gaara spoke out, obviously surprised. He had never been particularly fond of Sasuke.</p>
<p>"It's obvious," Shikamaru said. "Painfully so when they played football," he added, earning a few laughs.</p>
<p>"I don't like Sasuke," Gaara said, he had always been protective of the blonde ever since Naruto invited him into their group. It was as if he felt he owed him for helping him make friends.</p>
<p>"Neither do I, they’re just messing with me because he's my roommate, who I just find attractive," Naruto said. "And Kiba said I wasn't supposed to bring up so I don't know why he is."</p>
<p>"Because payback is a bitch remember?" Kiba smirked as he killed the only remaining person he was playing against. Naruto knew what he meant by that; Kiba knew that their friends would tease Naruto for liking Sasuke and that he’d hear about it for a long time, even if he tried to deny it.</p>
<p>"Neji, how are things with Tenten," Naruto then asked.</p>
<p>Neji blushed, "There's nothing going on with me and Tenten." No one noticed the way Gaara's eyes hardened at the conversation of Neji and Tenten being a couple. Neji looked at Gaara as he spoke to Naruto, but quickly turned away from the cold stare.</p>
<p>"Right, okay if you want to keep it secret that's cool," Naruto shrugged.</p>
<p>Neji decided to deflect the attention, mostly trying to redirect Gaara's attention from the thought of him and Tenten, "What about you Shikamaru, we all know you have two girls pinning for your attention. Who are you going to choose Ino or Temari?"</p>
<p>Shikamaru looked at Gaara, Temari's scary brother and just said, "I don't know yet." The redhead may look like he couldn’t do much, but they all knew better.</p>
<p>"Let's stop this talk about relationships, please," Naruto said. "We sound like a bunch of girls." It sounded a little sexist, but it was one way to get a group of guys to move on from the topic.</p>
<p>"Yeah, sounds good," he heard most agreed, so they moved on.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Sasuke sat in his business class, feeling highly uncomfortable without Suigetsu there. He hated not having a friend there as he felt Orochimaru's piercing eyes staring at him as if he knew something that he didn't. Sasuke tried to concentrate on what the professor was saying, but all he could feel Orochimaru's eyes on him and it was unnerving.</p>
<p>Once class was finished, Sasuke tried to get out as fast as he could. He was ready to bolt out of class faster than the speed of light, but it seemed life had other plans. "Sasuke, would you come here for a second?" his professor called, making Sasuke nervous.</p>
<p>"Why?" he asked. While he normally wouldn't question professors, this was one he didn't trust. He knew he was one of Orochimaru's men and wouldn’t put it past him to set up some kind of trap.</p>
<p>"I just have a question about the paper you turned in last week," The professor said, though Sasuke was still suspicious. He looked around and he didn't see Orochimaru. All of the other students were exiting as he walked up to the front.</p>
<p>"What is it?" he asked as the last student walked out.</p>
<p>"There was no question," Orochimaru said as he walked back in the room. "He was just doing me a favor," A sinister grin spread across his face. "You can go now," he said, addressing Kabuto, who only nodded as he made his exit, turning off the light as he left.</p>
<p>"Did you know there isn't a class in here for another hour?" he asked.</p>
<p>"I have a class soon," he said as he looked at the clock, wishing he had just ignored the professor calling after him before he could leave.</p>
<p>"Your professor doesn't take attendance," he pointed out. Sasuke was a little scared to know how he knew the professor didn’t take attention.</p>
<p>"My roommate will notice if I'm not there," Sasuke countered.</p>
<p>"Imagine what I could do to you in ten minutes, it would only take you five to get to your class," Orochimaru said as he moved closer, making it clear he knew Sasuke’s schedule.</p>
<p>Sasuke backed away from him, causing him to be backed into a corner. There are many forms of abuse, the most common forms being verbal, sexual, physical, and mental. He didn't know about sexual, but the other three he knew Orochimaru did very well.</p>
<p>Orochimaru pressed him into the whiteboard so hard that he could feel the part that held the erasers digging into his skin, likely leaving a mark. Orochimaru covered his mouth, "Shh, we can't have you let anyone know we're in here."</p>
<p>Sasuke felt like a caged animal. He wanted to run but he was paralyzed with fear. His heart felt like it was about to explode out of his chest. People always talked about fight or flight, they never took into consideration the type of fear that paralyzed you.</p>
<p>"I was surprised when you weren't as good as your brother, it's sad really, how pathetic you are," The older man smirked; he loved to see how vulnerable Sasuke was. "You're brother took everything like a man, but you're so weak," he added as gripped Sasuke’s upper arm so tightly that he knew it’d leave a mark. "Don't you miss this? Just think I could beat the crap out of you right now and no one would know. How does that make you feel?" he asked in a low voice with a sinister grin before punching him in the stomach, causing Sasuke to double over in pain. It was a weak punch, but still enough to knock the air out of him. Orochimaru was taunting him by holding back.</p>
<p>Sasuke was searching for a way out; he knew he couldn't put up with this anymore. He decided he wasn’t above fighting dirty and finally got the courage up to kick the older man in the groin. Orochimaru leaned over and released Sasuke, giving him the opportunity to get away.</p>
<p>He didn't care if he looked like a crazy person, he ran as fast as he could away from the classroom. He had to get away from Orochimaru, from his mind games, from the possibility of getting beat up with more than just a punch to the gut. He knew that the man probably didn't beat him up worse only because they were on school grounds. There were plenty of things in the classroom he could have used as a weapon; his hands weren’t the only things that had left bruises in the past. If it would have been anywhere else, he knew he probably would have left several new bruises and it certainly wouldn’t have been as weak of a punch.</p>
<p>When he arrived at his math class he sat next to Naruto but didn't say a word. He couldn't say anything; he knew it would come out shaky and terrified. He hated being around Orochimaru, especially alone. He knew he that he looked like a wreck, but at least he wasn’t with Orochimaru.</p>
<p>"Hey, are you okay, you're practically shaking and you look like you just ran here," Naruto said, concerned about his friend’s wellbeing. He'd never seen Sasuke so distraught, except maybe when he ran away after the power went out.</p>
<p>"I'm fine," Sasuke said, though it was clear that he wasn't fine. Sasuke was shaking so badly that he could hardly write.</p>
<p>"You are not fine, what the hell happened to you?" Naruto asked, genuinely worried.</p>
<p>"Can you please just drop it?" Sasuke asked, trying to calm down and steady himself. He found it lucky that he already had his school stuff with him when he went to talk to the professor so it was with him when he ran out.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Naruto knew that Suigetsu was sick, but that didn't mean that he couldn't go talk to him. This was an emergency. He knocked on the door, only to be let in by Suigetsu's roommate, Juugo. "Hey how are you feeling?" he asked once he saw him, trying to be polite even though he didn’t really care.</p>
<p>"Like crap, which is why I'm wondering why you're here," Suigetsu said, though he had a feeling the answer was Sasuke. It was always Sasuke.</p>
<p>"It's about Sasuke," Naruto said, proving him right.</p>
<p>"What about him?" Suigetsu asked, hoping the conversation would be quick so he could go back to sleep.</p>
<p>"When he came to class today, he was really shaken. I mean his hands were actually shaking and his voice was shaky," Naruto explained. "It was weird.”</p>
<p>"Oh god," Suigetsu said, having a feeling he knew exactly what happened; although he hopped he was wrong.</p>
<p>"Do you know why?" Naruto asked, hopeful he’d finally find out why Sasuke seemed so distraught.</p>
<p>"I hope not," he said as a feeling of dread came over him, wishing he hadn't missed a day of class.</p>
<p>"Care to share?" Naruto asked, feeling as if he was missing a giant piece to the puzzle known as Sasuke.</p>
<p>"That's really not my place," Suigetsu said, making the blonde extremely frustrated. It seemed like that was always his answer when it came to Naruto’s questions about Sasuke.</p>
<p>
  <strong>TBC…</strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So as I continue to edit this I've noticed that some things are probably outdated since I wrote this almost 10 years ago. Do you think I should update some parts to make it conform more with what's going on now as far as technology and social media or keep it the same? Let me know what you think. </p>
<p>Also, for those of you that have read this before, there will be a series of related one-shots coming the contents of which I won't mention here because of spoilers for this story.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. The Journal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been a week since the day Suigetsu had missed class and he had yet to hear what had happened to Sasuke the day he was absent. He knew that if he pushed him too much the other man would shut down completely and that was the last thing he wanted to happen. He was worried but when he tried asking about it Sasuke would avoid the topic at all costs. "You have to talk about it sooner or later," Suigetsu said as they sat in the “Student Union” which was really just a glorified food court that connected to a student lounge.</p><p>"I don't want to talk about it, nothing happened," Sasuke said as he played with his food. They had been sitting there for nearly a half hour and Sasuke had hardly touched his food. He had been even quieter than usual the past week, which was concerning given he hardly talked to begin with. Sasuke had closed himself off from everyone, including Suigetsu.</p><p>"Obviously something did," Suigetsu argued. "You're hardly eating and you won't talk to anyone except to respond and when you do respond it’s so short it can hardly be called a response." He was starting to get really worried about his friend and wished that he had gone to class that day no matter how sick he may have felt. He knew that he shouldn’t blame himself but he couldn’t help but feel that he should have known better than to let Sasuke go to Orochimaru's class alone.</p><p>"Look, just leave me alone. I'm fine, okay?" Sasuke said, shoving a piece of food in his mouth as if to prove his point. Suigetsu wasn't convinced; he knew Sasuke better than that. He knew that he wasn’t okay in the slightest.</p><p>Suigetsu thought about calling Itachi, but knew that would probably only make matters worse. He had to trust that Sasuke would come to him when he was ready. "Okay, but I'm here for you if you need me.” Sasuke looked at him for a moment and Suigetsu hoped he’d say something, but instead the other teen remained silent as he looked back down at his plate. Suigetsu dropped the subject, but the tension remained between the friends as they sat in silence.</p><p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p><p>Naruto felt as if he were going crazy as he paced back and forth in his dorm, talking to himself. Ever since the incident a week earlier Sasuke had been more distant than ever, which he didn’t even think was possible. No one would tell him why Sasuke had basically shut down all forms of communication. He knew that Sasuke and Suigetsu were probably the only two that knew what was going on with Sasuke, well them and that stupid journal he was always writing in.</p><p>Naruto paused in his pacing,<em>“I could read the journal. Sasuke wouldn't have to know, I could just put it back and he'd be none the wiser. It would answer all of my questions.”</em>Naruto looked to where he knew the journal was hidden. He bit his bottom lip<em>,</em><em>“No I can't do it, can I?” He was certain that talking to himself was probably the first sign that he was being crazy about the situation, but he </em><em>had</em><em> to know what was going on.</em></p><p>He walked over, pulling out the journal. He looked at it, knowing this was something Sasuke would probably guard with his life. He was actually surprised that dark haired teen didn't keep it on him at all times.<span class="apple-converted-space"> He started pacing again as he looked at the journal. It would be so simple to open it and see what was inside. </span><em>“To read it or not to read it, that is the question. If I read it, I'll know everything. But then I invade his privacy. But I would know why he's been so distant, I mean if it were really that much a secret then he’d hide his fucking journal better, right?” He tried to find a reason that would justify the complete invasion of privacy. “If it’s serious someone should help him. Damn it this is so confusing,” he huffed in frustration. </em></p><p>He figured he had plenty of time because Sasuke was hanging out with Suigetsu for the day and wouldn't be back for a while. The problem was deciding on if it was worth it to know what was inside the journal. Suigetsu had said that Sasuke had a reason he didn't trust people and he wanted to know the reason. Even Naruto knew that reading someone's journal wasn't the right way to find out what they were hiding, no matter how much he tried to justify the action.</p><p>He sighed, knowing that he had made his decision. He knew that if Sasuke wanted him to know then he would tell him and he was just going to have to live with that. He couldn't break his trust when the guy obviously already had trust issues.</p><p>The blond walked over to put the journal back where Sasuke had left it when he heard the door open.<em>'Shit,'</em>he cursed himself. He thought he had locked the door, meaning it was likely the only other person with a key to his room: Sasuke.</p><p>"What the hell are you doing?" Sasuke asked as he saw his journal in the blonde's hands. His heart raced; terrified and angry at the thought that Naruto may know the contents of his journal. He was terrified of the reaction he may receive and that he may tell someone about what has occurred. </p><p>"Uhhh," Naruto tried to look for an excuse, but he found none. It probably wasn't the best idea to lie when Sasuke already looked furious. "Look I can explain," Naruto tried, but he could tell that Sasuke didn't want to hear it, and angry at the total invasion of privacy.</p><p>"Explain? Explain what your total disregard for my privacy?" Sasuke growled.</p><p>"It's not what it looks like," Naruto started, but he knew that in a way it was exactly what it looked like. He had thought about reading the journal and knew that thinking about it was almost as bad as doing it.</p><p>"It looks like your putting back my journal after taking it out without me knowing," Sasuke said.</p><p>Naruto sighed,<em>“So maybe it is what it looks like, but I swear I didn’t read it!”</em><span class="apple-converted-space">He hated himself for even thinking about reading the journal. Sasuke had every right to be mad, but he needed to hear the explanation.</span></p><p>“Do you expect me to believe that?” Sasuke continued to glare at the blonde, "Let me guess, you just thought you could read it while I was gone. Did you get the information you wanted?"</p><p>"But Sasuke," Naruto tried to interrupt him so he could explain his actions.</p><p>"Don't even start, you listen to me closely. I will no longer talk to you. I will no longer tutor you. In fact, I won’t so much as look at you. You are dead to me," Sasuke said, his voice cutting through him like a knife. This fight was worse than any fist fight they got in during high school. Naruto never thought Sasuke saying those words would hurt so much.</p><p>"Can't you just hit me instead?" Naruto pleaded. "Please, hit me and we'll call it even."</p><p>"Are you kidding me? Is that some kind of sick joke?" Sasuke was enraged at the blonde’s words. He wondered how after reading his journal he could even bring up hitting. "Fuck you," was all Sasuke could say as he walked out of the room, slamming the door in the process.</p><p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p><p>Shino didn't want to be in the middle of campus. In fact that was one of the last places he wanted to be, yet he was there because his good friend Kiba dragged him there. The middle of campus was loud because of all the fast food places that were located there. He knew that the only reason they were there is because Hinata was there helping out with one of the school events.</p><p>"She's so helpful," he said as she handed out fliers for the school.</p><p>"Just ask her out already," Shino said. "You're acting like a stalker." Shino didn't often voice his opinion, but once he was in a situation he clearly didn't want to be in, he was going to speak up.</p><p>"Shut up, she might hear you," Kiba said quietly as she walked their way.</p><p>"Hi Kiba, hi Shino," Hinata said as she walked up to them and smiled timidly. "You should come to the school's play," she smiled as she handed them both fliers.</p><p>"Are you going?" Kiba asked.</p><p>"Probably," she said. She played with her fingers a moment before asking, "Why?"</p><p>"Just wondering," He said. The brunette didn't want to make it obvious that he liked her, everyone already knew except Hinata it seemed. Shino just rolled his eyes at the two of them, wondering why Kiba didn't ask her out when he clearly had the perfect opportunity.</p><p>"Oh," she smiled. "Well I'll see you around." She walked away, going off to hand out fliers to other students in the area.</p><p>Shino just shook his head. "What?" Kiba asked as he saw how his friend reacted.</p><p>"You're stupid sometimes," Shino replied.</p><p>"Why do you say that?" Kiba asked. He hated that anyone would call him stupid that was supposed to be Naruto's job. They had always joked with him how dense the guy was because he had never realized Hinata liked him.</p><p>"She wanted you to ask her to go," he said, as if it were obvious. He thought that Hinata might like him too; either that or she had just seen him as a really good friend. He hoped for Kiba's sake that she liked him because he didn't want to see him get hurt and because he'd have to hear about it for weeks if she did reject him.</p><p>"How would you know, it's not like you spend your day with girls, you spend your days with the creepy insects you secretly keep in the room," Kiba rolls his eyes.</p><p>"It was obvious," he said. He hoped with how much he was pushing it that he was right, he'd feel a little bad if he were wrong. She'd definitely go with him at least as a friend, but as a date he wasn't one hundred percent sure.</p><p>Before Kiba could respond, Naruto ran up to them, "I'm glad that I found you. I've been looking everywhere. Sakura finally told me that Hinata was here so I put two and two together."</p><p>"It's not like I stalk her," Kiba said, annoyed with his friends acting like it was a daily occurrence</p><p>"You're like a puppy that follows her," Naruto teased, making Shino chuckle.</p><p>"I'm not going to help you if you just sit there and make fun of me," he crossed his arms.</p><p>"Okay, I'm sorry, you're right, you’re not a stalker," Naruto said quickly. He didn’t want to argue with Kiba, he wanted advice and needed it sooner rather than later.</p><p>"You must really need help," Kiba's eyes widened. He knew Naruto would never take back teasing him unless it was necessary.</p><p>"I do," Naruto was practically begging at this point. "Please help me.” He was desperate for any help he could get.</p><p>"What happened?" Kiba asked. Naruto should have known that the brunette wasn't going to deny helping a friend, especially his best friend.</p><p>"So I was alone in my room right. It was driving me crazy about what was going on with Sasuke," Naruto started.</p><p>"Should have known it was a Sasuke problem," Kiba interrupted as he shook his head. It was getting to the point that he’d be surprised if it weren’t about Sasuke.</p><p>"Anyway," Naruto said, annoyed by his friend's interruption. "So you know how he keeps that journal? Well I was thinking that if I read it then maybe I would understand more why he was acting like that," Naruto said.</p><p>"You're a moron," Kiba sighed. “Please tell me you didn’t read it.” He couldn't believe the blonde's logic sometimes. He knew Naruto knew better than to read someone's journal but at the same time the blonde always wanted to know what was going on.</p><p>"I didn't actually read it, I was just thinking about reading it. I know that’s bad but I decided not to read it and was going to put it back but he caught me putting it back and now he thinks I read it. He won't even talk to me. He hates me, says I'm dead to him," Naruto explained, frustrated with his own actions.</p><p>"Just apologize," Kiba shrugged as Hinata came back into view.</p><p>"That's the best you've got?" Naruto asked. He wondered where the friend that helped him make and get out of trouble went. The blonde then followed his eye line and saw exactly who he was looking at. "God you're useless when she's around, you know that. What was it you said to me? Would you just make out with her, or fuck her, or whatever it is you want to do with her so I can get my friend back," Naruto smirked.</p><p>"Something along those lines," Kiba rolled his eyes. "I don't want to rush things with her."</p><p>"Trust me, you're not. You’re going at a glacial speed to the point that maybe you’ll ask her on a date when we’re fifty," he laughed. "And right now, you're no help."</p><p>"Look, just go ask Suigetsu, he knows how to deal with Sasuke way better than I do. I don't have advice for this shit," Kiba said.</p><p>"Obviously," Naruto mumbled. If he were honest, he should have gone to Suigetsu first since he knew him so well. The question was if the man would help him considering he was extremely loyal to Sasuke.</p><p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p><p>Sasuke was furious; he couldn't believe that Naruto would actually read his journal. He walked around campus for a while, trying to calm himself down, before he headed to Suigetsu's dorm.</p><p>"Sasuke?" Suigetsu said as he opened the door. "What's up?" he asked as he could tell he other was mad.</p><p>"I just can't believe it," Sasuke said as he walked in and sat on the bed closest to the door. Juugo was out so it really didn't matter what bed he sat on.</p><p>Suigetsu sat next to him and asked, "Can't believe what?" He had been studying for a test but he could tell whatever happened was important if it got Sasuke so worked up.</p><p>"He actually had the nerve to read my journal," Sasuke ran his hands through his hair.</p><p>"Are you sure?" Suigetsu asked. He was trying to remain neutral because he was certain that Sasuke wasn't thinking clearly at the moment. He knew no one got away with touching the journal and was a little surprised he hadn’t killed the blonde for doing so.</p><p>"He had it in his fucking hand when I walked in," Sasuke huffed. "So yeah I'm pretty sure." Sasuke sounded infuriated as he spoke and Suigetsu hadn't seen him so angry in a long time.</p><p>"Did he say anything to you about it? I mean he was caught red-handed right? You would think if he read it then he would at least talk to you about it," Suigetsu reasoned. He didn’t knew the blonde very well, but he knew him well enough that he was pretty sure he’d confront Sasuke about the contents of the journal.</p><p>"No," Sasuke replied.</p><p>"That doesn't really sound like Naruto," Suigetsu pointed out. He was thinking it didn't add up if Naruto actually did read the journal.</p><p>"He had it in his hand," Sasuke argued.</p><p>"Did you let him explain?" Suigetsu asked. He knew the answer was probably no, so he didn't even know why he bothered asking the question.</p><p>"Why are you taking his side?" Sasuke got angrier. "You're supposed to be my friend."</p><p>"I'm not, I'm just saying, when I heard about it, I was furious at Orochimaru. I wanted to go rip that guy a new one. I wanted him to be locked up, you know? I talked to you about it and all I know is what you’ve told me. I’ve never read your journal and I can only imagine what else it has in it. I still try to make you talk about things you don't want talk about," Suigetsu said. "Naruto just doesn't really seem like the kind of guy that if he learned what’s in that journal, he'd be able to not say anything to you."</p><p>Sasuke paused, as he looked at the floor and Suigetsu knew he was about to tell him something important. "There's stuff in that journal that I haven't even told you," Sasuke confirmed as he put his head in his hands. He had calmed down only a little.</p><p>"About what?" Suigetsu asked, seeing that wasn't the only thing bothering his friend. "If you don't mind telling me that is," he quickly added, not wanting to make Sasuke feel pressured to tell him.</p><p>"Remember when you were absent?" Sasuke asked after taking a deep breath as he looked at him. Suigetsu knew this kind of stuff was difficult for Sasuke to talk about. He understood, it would be difficult for anyone to talk about something so personal and traumatizing.</p><p>"Yeah," Suigetsu said, he knew something had happened that day no matter how much Sasuke tried to deny it.</p><p>"Orochimaru got me alone," Sasuke said. He didn't make eye contact and his voice went quiet as he spoke.</p><p>"Did he hurt you?" Suigetsu asked, worried that the answer would be yes. Suigetsu frowned, wishing even more that he had been there that day.</p><p>"Mostly just mentally, I got away before he could do anything," Sasuke sighed. He hated feeling so vulnerable. He knew that he had to tell someone though, keeping it bottled up was doing him no good.</p><p>"You'll be okay Sasuke, we'll make sure he can't get you anymore," Suigetsu promised. He had to try to reassure his best friend, it was all he could do. He knew he might not be able to keep that promise, but he’d do everything he could to make sure nothing happened to the other teen.</p><p>"It's like he's trying to break me or something," Sasuke said, still looking at the floor. He could never look him in the eyes when he told him about what Orochimaru did to him.</p><p>"I don't care what it takes, you'll never go back to that house, or be alone with that man again," Suigetsu said, though he could tell Sasuke didn’t fully believe him.</p><p>"You can't possibly know that," Sasuke frowned, knowing Suigetsu was only saying those words to comfort him.</p><p>"But we can sure as hell try to make it possible," Suigetsu wished that he could make everything better, but he was fairly certain that it would be impossible until Orochimaru was out of his life.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Apologize</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I have upped the chapter count...I have added a new chapter from the old version it will likely be chapter 16 and may trigger some people...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kiba and Naruto sat in the middle of campus talking between classes. Naruto was still trying to figure out what to do about Sasuke and he couldn’t talk about that in his room and Shino had kicked them out of Kiba’s room so he could study, so they ended up in the middle of campus. "Come on Kiba you have to have better advice than that."</p>
<p>"As I said, why don't you ask Suigetsu? The guy is Sasuke's best friend, he'd know best," Kiba pointed out. He was tired of hearing about the dumbass situation that he’d gotten himself into. “If you had just asked before you read the journal I would have told you not to and we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.”</p>
<p>Naruto just sighed, "You really don't have any good advice, do you?” He thought about talking to Suigetsu but figured he’d tell Sasuke that he was asking questions and then things would just be worse, if that were possible.</p>
<p>"I'm not a Sasuke expert," Kiba shrugged.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I know," Naruto frowned; knowing his usual go to person could be of no help on this subject. "I'm going to find Sakura."</p>
<p>"You're crazy man," was all he said as Naruto walked away to find their pink haired, Sasuke obsessed friend.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Naruto decided that Kiba was no help whatsoever, so he went to Sakura. She was a good friend and someone who had been there for him, so he hoped she would be of some help. When they were younger he thought he had a crush on her, but that was diminished when they got to their teen years and he realized girls weren’t his preference. After that realization they had become friends and she could provide some useful advice when he needed it. "Hey Sakura," he smiled as he walked up to her. Plus, she was obsessed with Sasuke so she might know how to handle the situation.</p>
<p>She looked at him and she could tell the smile was somewhat forced, "What's wrong?" It always amazed him how she seemed to see right through him.</p>
<p>"I did something bad," he said as he scratched the back of his neck nervously. He wasn't sure how she'd react, seeing as she'd always had a thing for Sasuke. He kept his distance in case she felt the need to hit him.</p>
<p>"What'd you do?" she asked in disapproval. She was used to cleaning up Naruto's messes, but she hoped once they got to college he would straighten out a bit. Unfortunately it appeared that nothing had changed.</p>
<p>"You see, Sasuke won't talk to me and I'm trying to figure out how to get him to talk to me again," Naruto said, trying not to include that he has a journal. He knew Sakura would try to steal it in a heartbeat. She would give no consideration for the dark haired teen’s privacy if it meant that she might get some information to help her win him over.</p>
<p>"Sasuke? What'd you do to Sasuke?" she asked and he suddenly felt as if she was going to turn on him.</p>
<p>"I just pried into his personal life and he doesn't like that much. But I didn't even do anything, he just thinks I did, and he won't listen to me," Naruto tries to explain.</p>
<p>"I should go comfort him," Sakura said, making Naruto regret going to her to advice.</p>
<p>"No you should be giving me advice on Sasuke," Naruto sighed.</p>
<p>"Do you know where he is?" she asked, ignoring her friend. Naruto should have known better than to come to her with a Sasuke problem. She was fine with every other problem, but if it involved Sasuke, she saw it as a way to get closer to him. Her obsession with him was the one thing he found creepy.</p>
<p>"No," Naruto said, hoping that she didn't find him as she hurried off searching for him.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Naruto finally decided to try Kiba's first suggestion; it seemed simple enough to just apologize. He had a sinking feeling in his chest that it wouldn't work. He walked into his and Sasuke's room, feeling that it would be his best bet to finding Sasuke. When he walked in, he was met with cold eyes and the cold shoulder as the teen turned away. "Hey," he tried to break the ice, trying to see if Sasuke would talk to him but his efforts were ignored.</p>
<p>"Please just talk to me," Naruto begged as he walked over to Sasuke. The dark haired teen wouldn't even look at him; it was as if he wasn't even in the room.</p>
<p>"Come on, I'm sorry, what do I have to do to prove it to you?" the blonde asked, hating the silent treatment he was receiving. He realized he was sounding desperate, but that was partially because he was a little desperate. He just wanted him to say something, even if it was an insult.</p>
<p>Sasuke just looked at him, his bottomless eyes glaring at him. The raven got up and walked out of the room, still silent. Naruto dropped his head in defeat. He sighed, deciding it was time to turn to plan B. He had no other choice; Sasuke just wouldn't listen to him.</p>
<p>
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<p>"Sasuke!" the raven heard a voice call out. He cursed his luck because he knew it was Sakura. He really didn't want to deal with her on that particular day. He didn’t want to deal with her on any day, let alone on a day when he was already in a bad mood.</p>
<p>He stopped walking and waited for the pink haired girl to catch up to him, "What do you want?" He didn't care how harsh his voice sounded and he knew she didn't either. No matter how many times he rejected the girl she just came back.</p>
<p>"I heard you were having a bad day," she said as she batted her eyelashes, trying to flirt.</p>
<p>"So?" he asked, not wanting to give her any reason to think he was interested. He wasn't interested in the least. He felt like he'd made that very clear but she couldn't get it through her thick skull.</p>
<p>"I thought I could cheer you up," she smiled and played with her hair. Sakura thought she was doing a good job at flirting, but Sasuke didn't seem to respond well.</p>
<p>"Sakura, I'm not interested in you. I don't want you to cheer me up," Sasuke said bluntly. He felt as if it was the only way to tell her that she would understand.</p>
<p>"But Sasuke I love you," she protested.</p>
<p>"You hardly know me. We've hardly talked in the years we've gone to school together, so how can you love me?" Sasuke asked he just wanted her to realize she didn't love him. She loved the idea of him, but not him. He felt that it was time for her to be able to tell the difference between love and lust. He didn't let her say anything else he just walked away.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
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<p>Naruto walked down to Suigetsu's room, hoping that Sasuke wouldn't be there. He knocked on the door and was happy to find that Suigetsu was there alone. "Hey Naruto what's up?" the light-haired teen asked, though he knew it had to do with Sasuke. It always had something to do with Sasuke.</p>
<p>"Sasuke won't talk to me," Naruto said, he figured he'd get straight to the point. He knew that Suigetsu probably already knew what happened. Sasuke seemed to tell him everything.</p>
<p>"I see," Suigetsu nods as he looked at Naruto. Sasuke had been keeping him in the loop of what had been going on between the two so he was well aware of the reason. The blonde looked so confused as to why a simple thing as a journal would cause this much of an argument.</p>
<p>"I just don't understand, I mean I know it's his journal, but I didn't even read it. Even if I did, I don't see why it would be that big of a deal. I know he should be mad, but<em>this</em>mad is a little over the top, don't you think?" Naruto asked as he paced back and forth. Suigetsu knew he was fishing for answers that he just couldn't give.</p>
<p>"If you knew what was in the journal, you'd understand why it is that big of a deal," Suigetsu said. He wasn’t going to betray Sasuke’s trust by saying anything else. If he wanted Naruto to know then he’d tell him.</p>
<p>"What's going on?" Naruto asked as he stopped his pacing, staring Suigetsu straight in the eye. It was clear there was something bigger behind it all, but he had no idea what it could be.</p>
<p>"I can't tell you that," Suigetsu looked down. "As I've told you before, it's not my place. If he won't tell you then I certainly can't."</p>
<p>"So what am I supposed to do then, just sit back and wait until he forgives me? News flash, I don't think that's going to happen," Naruto let out a frustrated sigh.</p>
<p>"Just give him sometime to think about it, maybe he'll realize that you didn't read it," Suigetsu suggested. "He just doesn't trust as it is, it doesn't help that you had his journal in your hand."</p>
<p>Naruto frowned; he couldn't believe he could be so stupid. Some people weren't an open book like him and Sasuke was one of those people. "Thanks Suigetsu."</p>
<p>Suigetsu watched as the blonde walked out of the room in defeat. He knew there was no way that he had read the journal.<em>'I need to talk to Sasuke,</em>' he thought as he text Sasuke to find out where he was.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>"So, why'd you want to meet?" Sasuke asked as Suigetsu walked up to him. It took a minute for him to catch his breath; he had obviously rushed to get there. Suigetsu had purposefully made it sound important so he wouldn’t try to push it of until later.</p>
<p>"Don't walk away," Suigetsu said, before giving his topic. He knew that the topic of Naruto had been off limits since the incident. The raven could hold a grudge; Suigetsu just hoped he could change his mind on this one.</p>
<p>"Don't bring him up," Sasuke warned, getting ready to walk away. Suigetsu didn't let him; instead he made him sit down on the nearest bench. "Why do you want to talk about him?" Sasuke glared, annoyed with his friend.</p>
<p>"There's no way he read your journal," Suigetsu said, knowing Sasuke wouldn't believe him.</p>
<p>"He had it in his hand," Sasuke argued. "I can't believe you're still taking his side!"</p>
<p>"I'm not taking sides, I'm just telling you, he couldn't have read it," he responded.</p>
<p>"And how do you know that? Did he tell you that?" the raven crossed his arms, turning away from his friend. Suigetsu could tell that he didn't want to hear anything else.</p>
<p>"Look he's clueless as to what's going on, there is no way he'd be able to hide it if he knew. Naruto is not manipulative enough to be able to hide it, you and I both know that," Suigetsu argued. "He would have confronted you about it right then and there."</p>
<p>Sasuke looked at the ground, he started to clutch the bench as he thought about what Suigetsu said. He knew Suigetsu was right; it didn't make sense for Naruto not to confront him. He thought about what Naruto had said after he caught him and he knew that the blonde wouldn't be so heartless as to say to hit him if he had read the journal. "I can't just forgive him," Sasuke said. "He betrayed what little trust I gave him."</p>
<p>"I know, but I really do think he's genuinely sorry," Suigetsu says, hoping he got through to him. Sasuke just nodded, making it clear that he was processing what Suigetsu was saying.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Let me know what you think...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Drunk and Tolerable</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry it took a while to update, I've been pretty busy. I'm going to try to get at least one more chapter for this posted this weekend.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A week went by in silence, for Naruto it was a week of torture. He hated to be ignored and found it to be worse when it was Sasuke ignoring him. He looked over at Sasuke and saw him reading. Naruto smiled as he felt that it was his chance to make him talk. The other teen wasn’t truly busy and he seemed relaxed enough. "Will you please just talk to me?"</p>
<p>Sasuke ignored him and Naruto couldn't help but feel this routine was getting really old. "Fine, if you're going to be quiet then I'm just going to talk," he said, earning a glare from Sasuke but he didn’t say anything. "I couldn't do it, okay. I wanted to read your stupid journal, but I couldn't invade your privacy like that. I know it was wrong of me to even grab it in the first place, but I couldn’t help it, I want to know what’s going on and you refuse to let me in."</p>
<p>Sasuke tried to ignore him, but he couldn't, Naruto wouldn't let him. "You had it in your hand," Sasuke said, finally breaking his silence. Naruto didn't care that it was in anger, he was just happy he was talking to him.</p>
<p>"I know, I told you I was thinking about it, but I couldn't do it," Naruto hoped Sasuke would believe him. He didn't know how explain it to the raven so that he would forgive him.</p>
<p>Sasuke thought about what Suigetsu had said, but he still couldn't bring himself to just forgive Naruto. "How can I trust you?" Sasuke looked at him as he got off his bed. "The fact that you even thought about looking at it with out my permission just makes me angry."</p>
<p>Naruto was silent for a while as the two stood, staring at each other. It was as if they were both trying to figure out what to do. "I know it was wrong and I don't know what I can do to make you forgive me," Naruto finally said quietly.</p>
<p>"I don't know if I can forgive you," Sasuke sighed. Naruto had betrayed his trust, he wasn't sure if there was any way that he'd be able to earn it back. He looked at the blonde, who seemed to be absolutely defeated, so he added, "But I can tolerate you." He didn't know why he added it; the words just came out of his mouth. Some part of him didn't like seeing the blonde so sad and that bothered him.</p>
<p>Naruto smiled, in an instant his whole attitude turned around as he said, "Great to celebrate, we're going out tonight. I'm sure there's a party somewhere."</p>
<p>"I said I would tolerate you, not be your friend," Sasuke reminded him. He was already starting to think that tolerating the blonde might be a bad idea.</p>
<p>"Doesn't mean we can't go to a party, it'll be fun," Naruto continued to grin.  </p>
<p>Sasuke sighed; he knew either way he'd get dragged along. Somehow the blonde had that effect on him and was able to get him to do things he wouldn’t usually do. He tried to act like he was being forced, but really he had his own free will and could say no if he really wanted to, so he didn’t understand why it was so hard to do when it came to Naruto.</p>
<p>
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<p>Naruto barged into Kiba's room, knowing he kept it unlocked when he was there. "Thanks for knocking," Kiba said sarcastically, as the blonde sat down. Naruto ignored his comment, he was too happy for his best friend to ruin his good mood.</p>
<p>"I have a plan, but first we need to find a party to go to tonight," Naruto told him. He had the smile on his face that told Kiba he was going to do something stupid.</p>
<p>"I'm sure there's one somewhere," Kiba shrugged. "What's your plan?"</p>
<p>"Sasuke said he'd tolerate me, so I'm going to get him drunk," the blonde smiled, as if the rest was obvious.</p>
<p>"And then what?" Shino asked from his spot on his bed. He was always skeptical of Naruto's plans, especially since many of them never turned out the way the blonde wanted them to. His plans rarely ever went the way he intended and generally spiraled into a mess of Naruto’s own making.</p>
<p>"And then I'm sure he'll find me better than tolerable," Naruto continue to smile as if it were the best plan in the world.</p>
<p>"What do you plan to do, fuck him?" Kiba laughed as teased his best friend. He knew very well that if given the opportunity Naruto would probably happily fuck Sasuke, no matter how much he protested.</p>
<p>"No!" Naruto shoved his friend for the suggestion. "I can't believe you'd say that."</p>
<p>"I'm just saying you said you'd get him drunk and he'd find you better than tolerable, sounds like you want to take him to your bed," Kiba smirked. "It's not like it would be that difficult, it's in the same room."</p>
<p>"You're such a perverted asshole," Naruto said. "You know that's not what I meant."</p>
<p>"Yeah, yeah, let's find a party," Kiba laughed. While he may sometimes be a supportive friend, it was always fun to mess with Naruto too.</p>
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<p>"Naruto wants to get Sasuke drunk," Kiba informed Suigetsu on their way to the party. He felt like he should at least warn Suigetsu of his plans in case something went wrong.</p>
<p>"Did you bring the video camera?" Suigetsu asked with a laugh. The idea of getting Sasuke drunk was always funny to him. Sasuke was not a big drinker and had a low tolerance for alcohol.</p>
<p>"Other than my phone? No, why?" asked the brunette.</p>
<p>"Do you really think Sasuke is one to get drunk?" Suigetsu asked as if to make his point.</p>
<p>"No," Kiba replied, realizing what Suigetsu was saying.</p>
<p>"Exactly, so if Naruto succeeds, it will be hilarious," Suigetsu chuckled, knowing how Sasuke acted when he was drunk. He wasn’t exactly his usual reserved self when he drank to the point of actually getting drunk.</p>
<p>"Is he a little more talkative?" Kiba laughed. He'd bet anything that Sasuke still wouldn't talk much even when he was drunk.</p>
<p>"Yeah, that'll be the day," Suigetsu said, knowing that Kiba was being sarcastic. "I mean I guess you could call what he does when he gets drunk as being more talkative," Suigetsu said after a moment of thought.</p>
<p>"What does that even mean?" the brunette asked, unsure if he really wanted to know. He couldn't picture Sasuke drunk, but his guess was that the raven would be an angry drunk if anything, certainly not talkative.</p>
<p>"Let's just say, I think Sasuke has an alternate personality when he's drunk, one that's a little loose," Suigetsu tried to put it nicely. In his perspective saying loose was better than saying his best friend was a slut when he was drunk.</p>
<p>"How would you even know that?" Kiba asked. While he was pretty sure Suigetsu was straight, part of him had wondered if there had ever been anything more between him and Sasuke given how close they were.</p>
<p>"When we were in high school, I made him come to a party and he didn't want to drink because he didn't really know how alcohol would affect him," Suigetsu said, trying to choose his words wisely. He didn't want to say that Sasuke thought it might make him angry because of the things that happened to him. "It made him loosen up, relax, and apparently flirtatious."</p>
<p>"He hit on you?" Kiba couldn't help but laugh.</p>
<p>"God no, apparently I'm not his type," Suigetsu explained. "But this blonde almost twice his size was, I thought I was going to have to hurry him out of there before he got himself hurt."</p>
<p>"Oh," Kiba laughed. "You're right this will be hilarious." The two realized how far they had fallen behind their friends and sped up to join their conversation. Kiba could only smirk as he looked at Sasuke and Naruto, knowing the night would be nothing short of entertaining.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
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<p>The group arrived at the party and Naruto immediately pulled Sasuke over to get a drink. "Come on you have to have at least one drink," the blonde said cheerfully.</p>
<p>"Must I keep reminding you that I only said you were tolerable?" Sasuke asked, trying to hide the smirk that threatened to show. Despite his words, he continued to let himself be pulled along with the blonde.</p>
<p>"You know you want a drink, don't deny it," Naruto said. The blonde looked back at Sasuke and realized that if he moved his hand about an inch down that they could be mistaken for holding hands rather than Naruto grasping his wrist. He didn't know why the thought of holding Sasuke's hand made his heart beat quicken momentarily, but it was enough for him to stop concentrating on the dark haired teen.</p>
<p>"You're not going to get me to drink," the raven said, sure that his will would not break. Sasuke knew that he had a rather low tolerance level for alcohol. There was no way he was going to let himself lose his inhibitions around Naruto, the blonde would probably make him do something stupid – he just wasn't sure what yet. He didn’t want to admit that the blonde’s good looks might make him do something stupid on all on his own if he got drunk with him.</p>
<p>"You should know, I won't give up until you have at least one drink, perhaps two," Naruto said, smiling at him while handing him a beer. Sasuke sighed, knowing he was going to regret his decision as he grabbed the beer. Sasuke was proved correct in thinking he'd be regretting his decision, as one beer turned into many more. A fast paced song came on came on and Naruto looked at Sasuke with a glint in his eye, "Come on dance with me."</p>
<p>Sasuke looked at Naruto, they both were obviously drunk as Sasuke said, "Why not." He let himself be led to the dance floor and let the blonde take the lead, even in his drunken state Naruto couldn't help but think that it was very uncharacteristic of the raven.</p>
<p>When they got to the dance floor, Naruto found out what Suigetsu already knew: Sasuke was a loose drunk. Naruto was obviously the less drunk of the two, as Sasuke was willingly grinding the blonde and letting his hands roam where ever they pleased without any complaining.</p>
<p>"This is only going to lead to trouble you know," Shikamaru pointed out to Suigetsu and Kiba who were watching in amusement.</p>
<p>"How do you figure?" Kiba asked.</p>
<p>"It's going to be really awkward tomorrow," he replied. He knew people were getting it on camera and they were bound to see what their friends let happen when they were drunk. It was obvious that the two were attracted to each other, but given they refused to admit it, they probably wouldn’t take too kindly to their friends letting them grind on each other on the makeshift dance floor.</p>
<p>"They won't remember anything tomorrow," Suigetsu said, knowing how trashed they were, or at least how trashed Sasuke was.</p>
<p>"You can only hope, cause they'll blame you guys for letting it get that out of hand," he said, not bothering to point out the people taking photos and video of them. Mostly, girls finding it hot for some reason that he’d never understand.</p>
<p>"He's right, we should stop watching. I mean, if we don't know, then we can't get in trouble for it," Kiba reasoned.</p>
<p>"Yeah, you tell that to Sasuke when he asks what happened tomorrow," Suigetsu said. They all knew Kiba's reasoning wasn't very good; Suigetsu was just the first to point it out.</p>
<p>"Fine, then I say we just refuse to tell them," Kiba said. They all looked at each other and nodded in agreement.</p>
<p>"One good thing is coming out of tonight," Suigetsu smiled.</p>
<p>"What's that?" Kiba asked, wondering what was already good about that night.</p>
<p>"Now we all know that Sasuke is apparently much more forgiving when he's drunk," Suigetsu laughed as he looked at his friend and the blonde. He had a feeling that Sasuke never hated the blonde as much as he said he did, which was why he had forgiven him so easily. Suigetsu felt that if it had been anyone else, Sasuke would still be very angry.</p>
<p>“I don’t know if he’ll be that forgiving to everyone,” Shikamaru shook his head. “Pretty sure Naruto’s special when it comes to this.” Suigetsu and Kiba shook their heads in agreement.</p>
<p>Naruto and Sasuke were still dancing for the third song in a row. They seemed to be stuck together like glue, as other people had tried to steal each of the guys away from one another, but they refused. By the third song they were facing each other, still dancing sexually. Sasuke had his hands in Naruto's hair and Naruto had his hands practically everywhere. Their faces were so close that if someone bumped them or if one moved forward a little bit, they would probably be kissing. When Naruto was tired of dancing, he pulled Sasuke off to the side, where some of their friends were hanging out.</p>
<p>The blonde seemed to ignore the fact that their friends were there, as he still concentrated on Sasuke and only Sasuke. Before any of their friends could say anything to them, Naruto randomly blurted out, "You're hot." Everyone knew he was talking to Sasuke; he was looking straight at the raven as he said it.</p>
<p>It was probably the dark haired teen's answer that shocked some of them most, "So are you." He had a drunken smirk on his face as he said it and he was still very close to the blonde. All their friends just looked at each other, not really sure what was going to happen next. It wasn’t that they didn’t know Sasuke found Naruto attractive, it was the fact that he actually admitted it out loud.</p>
<p>"I've always thought you were really good looking," Naruto said again, dragging out the "e" on really as he put his arm around Sasuke for support. Sasuke leaned against the wall behind him, to support them both, rather than pushing the blonde off.</p>
<p>"I don't care," he said, initiating a drunk and sloppy kiss as he pulled the blonde closer to him. The blonde put his hands on his waist as Sasuke wrapped his arms around his neck. It wasn't really clear who deepened it, but Suigetsu was sure he could see some tongue action going on and that was when he turned away from the scene in front of him.</p>
<p>"So I knew tonight was going to be interesting, but I wasn't expecting that," he said to Kiba. He knew that he said Sasuke was loose, but he thought Naruto might have some sort of self-control. Clearly, he was wrong.</p>
<p>"You can say that again," the brunette agreed, as he looked anywhere other than his best friend and Sasuke. He personally didn't want to see if it got anymore graphic than that and it was obvious neither did any of their friends. "They're lucky Sakura isn't here," Kiba laughed. He knew that the Sasuke obsessed girl would have made a huge scene just by Naruto dancing with Sasuke, let alone the two kissing.</p>
<p>"At least Naruto is," Suigetsu agreed. “We should be filming this,” he chuckled. “Good blackmail material.”</p>
<p>“If we film it then we have no claim of deniability and a certain Uchiha kills us both while Naruto helps him hide our bodies,” Kiba shook his head. “Plus then we’d have to actually see it and, while I don’t care that Naruto’s gay, that doesn’t mean I want to watch him make out with Sasuke.”</p>
<p>“You mean devour? I think they’ve moved past the point of just making out,” Suigetsu corrected, causing Kiba to laugh.</p>
<p>Kiba found it nice how easy it was to talk to the light haired teen, there was something different from when he was talking to Naruto that he couldn’t quite explain. “I think I need another drink if I’m going to deal with these two tonight.”</p>
<p>“Me too,” Suigetsu agreed before they left their friends to find another drink. They were pretty sure the two men weren’t going anywhere; they just hoped that they wouldn’t escalate to something more intimate in the middle of a party. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Let me know what you think :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. More Than Tolerable</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I forgot how fun this chapter was to write...a little fun before the upcoming angst in a couple chapters</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shikamaru was trying to avoid Ino and Temari. He was well aware that they had both came out with them and were looking for him. The problem was, every time they all three hung out together the two girls fought, silently saying that he should make a decision already. They never said it to his face, but he knew what they thought. If it were that easy to make a decision then he would have already made one. He liked them for different reasons and it wasn't like he could just pick the one that was hotter because he found them both appealing in different ways.</p>
<p>Ino’s history of obsessing over Sasuke raised a red flag for him, but as far as he knew she had gotten over it during high school and moved her focus onto him, in a much less obsessive manner. Temari’s younger brother was often a deterrent and it was no secret that he had not so subtly threatened him on at least one occasion. Temari had scolded her brother’s actions, but he knew deep down it pleased her to watch him squirm. He was pretty sure the other teen might try to bury him alive if he hurt his sister. All he wanted to do was get out of there and find a nice hill to look at the stars, but he figured someone would see him leave and both girls would know exactly where to find him, he was sort of predictable in that sense.</p>
<p>"Have you seen Ino and Temari?" Shikamaru asked Sai, who was standing quietly by Hinata and Shino. All three of them looked as if they weren’t enjoying the party much. Hinata seemed nervous, her social anxiety taking over. Shino seemed bored, like he’d rather be anywhere other than at a party and would likely be leaving soon enough. The brunette figured if Sasuke weren’t drunk and busy making out with Naruto then he’d probably be right there with them grumbling something about dumb blondes and trying to hide the fact that he was watching Naruto.</p>
<p>"Ino was talking to Chouji a few moments ago, I believe she was looking for you," he smiled, obviously not seeing that this was a bad thing. "Temari was talking to Gaara, she looked angry, or at least I think she was angry. She was clenching her fists as she looked around," he said while keeping the smile on his face. Shikamaru could only think that the guy was clueless when it came to people, or at least was acting like it, because every one knew that it meant that those two were looking for him. Either he took pleasure in watching people suffer or he was oblivious. Shikamaru cursed under his breath as he thanked Sai and leaned against the wall behind Hinata, Sai, and Shino, hoping the two girls wouldn't find them.</p>
<p>Every now and then Hinata would try to strike up conversation with Shino, but none of them led anywhere. All attempts at conversing failed until Shino surprised her by asking "Do you like Naruto still?"</p>
<p>She blushed as she looked down and played with her fingers. Naruto had been her high school crush. She had always been in love with him, or at least the idea of him. "I can't really help it," she stuttered as she continued to play with her fingers. She always stuttered when she was nervous.</p>
<p>"Even after seeing him kiss Sasuke like that, you like him?" he asked as he nodded in the direction of the other two teens. He couldn't believe the girl could be so infatuated with him. It wasn't as if she had a shot with the guy, yet she was infatuated with him. It was understandable when it was a movie star and the girl understood she could never have him, but for it to be a friend made it ridiculous. He just looked at her in disbelief, feeling sorry for Kiba, knowing that he may never have her because her heart belonged to his best friend.</p>
<p>"I know it's foolish, but it's not something you can just turn off," she said once again stuttering and wondering why this was suddenly coming up. She hoped that it wasn't because Shino had a crush on her. Hinata knew that she had harbored no feelings for him. "Why is this coming up?" she looked down, trying not to stutter, but it didn't work as moved on to playing with the hem of her shirt.</p>
<p>"Today's activities just had me wondering if you still love him," he shrugged. "You seemed so interested in talking, so I provided a conversation piece, that's all." He left out the part that he was trying to find out if Kiba had a shot, he didn’t want to make anything awkward.</p>
<p>She looked at him, wondering if that was truly all and she genuinely hoped that it was. Hinata just nodded, deciding not to try to engage him in conversation again. "I'm going to talk to Kiba," she hurried off to the brunette, causing Shino to frown. He knew that she had no idea Kiba had a crush on her, but her encouragement would only hurt Kiba more when she turned him down. She was always so nice to him, more so than she was to anyone else, except Naruto, giving him some hope that maybe she liked him. Shino was sure that she just saw him as a best friend and not boyfriend material.</p>
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<p>When Hinata walked over to Kiba he noticed she seemed upset. Kiba looked at Suigetsu silently telling him to leave them alone. "I'm going to find," Suigetsu paused for moment wondering whom else in the group he could talk to. His other friends didn't tag along and Sasuke was occupied, "Neji." It was the first name that came to mind. He sometimes talked to Neji since the older man wouldn't let anyone in his room that he didn't know at least a little bit. While Sasuke had told him that Suigetsu was cool, that meant nothing to the longhaired man.</p>
<p>"What's wrong?" Kiba asked after Suigetsu walked away.</p>
<p>"Do you think Shino likes me?" she asked. Kiba almost choked after the words came out of her mouth. He was shocked to think that he may have to compete with two of his friends for her affection.</p>
<p>"Shino? Why do you ask?" He wondered, thinking Shino showed no signs of interest in Hinata ever since he met her.</p>
<p>She looked down, "He asked if I still liked Naruto." Kiba felt his heart sink, feeling he knew the answer to that question. "I was hoping it wasn't because he was interested in me. I wouldn't want to break his heart."</p>
<p>"Oh, I don't think Shino's been interested in anyone as long as I've known him. I think you're safe," Kiba reassured her, knowing he had to get to the bottom of things.</p>
<p>"Thanks Kiba, you're the best friend a girl could have," she said as she hugged him. He frowned at her words; they were the worst words that a guy in love with a girl could ever hear. Kiba had a feeling he would always be stuck in the friend zone and it almost made him wish he had never entered it to begin with. He never wanted to be just her friend.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Suigetsu walked over to Neji, who looked as if he was debating something, silently trying to figure it out in his head. It amused him that the usually alert man hadn’t noticed he was there. "Care to share?" he asked with a chuckle knowing that he startled the man. While he was only a couple years older than most of their group, he was considered a man. He was a grade ahead of them in high school and now 20, almost old enough to buy them booze, and knew people who would buy it for him. While in high school he was seen as goody-good Hyuuga, however, college had seemed to change him. He still wanted the approval of his family, but that didn't mean that he didn't help his friends break the rules and get booze. He knew how to not get caught and could sweet-talk his elders; therefore he knew he would never be suspected of assisting a minor get alcohol.</p>
<p>"What do you want?" Neji asked the light haired teen, annoyed that he could tell something was wrong. The guy was hardly his friend and yet he could see right through him. The only way he could explain his thoughts were Gaara’s stupid eyes, but he couldn't say that to Suigetsu because it would confuse the hell out of him. If he said it then he'd have to explain how confused he was about Gaara and the way he felt about him and that didn't sound appealing.</p>
<p>"I'm just confused," said Neji as he sighed, trying to think of a reason why he’d be confused and not be gay. Everyone knew that it was not like him to be confused about anything. Everyone thought that he was attracted to Tenten and at one point he thought that too, then he met Gaara and he knew that he’d never truly been attracted to the girl.</p>
<p>"From what I hear, that doesn't sound like you," Suigetsu said as he looked at the longhaired man. Neji knew that something like that was coming and that he wouldn't just let it go. He was like Sasuke in some ways, but in others he was just like Naruto. He knew if Naruto was sober and knew he was confused he'd be doing the exact same thing.</p>
<p>"That's with school, this is completely different," Neji snapped, annoyed with how nosy he was being. It just made Suigetsu laugh, he was used to guys like him, mostly because Sasuke was like him. They both wanted their privacy and annoyed when people pushed for an answer. He was obviously strong willed, as he was not giving Suigetsu an answer to his initial question.</p>
<p>"Care to explain?" Suigetsu asked, knowing he was probably crossing a line. He was a hardly friend with Neji. The light haired teen was bored and the two people he was an actually friend with at the party were busy, so he figured he had nothing to lose with bothering the brunette.</p>
<p>"Not to you," was his simple answer. It almost shocked him how blunt he was about it, usually Neji a little more polite. Suigetsu then realized that the brunette was aggravated, not with him, but with Gaara. He'd never personally talked to the redhead, but it seemed that Neji had by the way he was staring him.</p>
<p>"So what'd Gaara do to you?" he asked, worried he might get punched for doing so. Neji just glared at him, which was nothing considering he was used to Sasuke's glare. It was funny to him that anyone thought they could intimidate him when Sasuke was his best friend.</p>
<p>"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, looking away from Suigetsu. He tried not to look back at Gaara, causing him to become uneasy. Suigetsu just looked at him, not believing a word he said but he remained silent before realizing what Neji meant when he walked over.</p>
<p>"Wait, you're confused about Gaara? As in you're confused if you like him?" Suigetsu connected the dots and it all made sense.</p>
<p>Neji put his hand over Suigetsu's mouth to silence him, "Shut up, do you want everyone to hear you?" He looked around to make sure no one was looking at them and relaxed when he saw no one seemed interested in their conversation.</p>
<p>Suigetsu just grinned at him and said, "I'm right, aren't I?" He couldn't believe he didn't see it sooner; it was obvious by the way the two of them acted. People had always told him there was something between Neji and Tenten so he never thought much about it until now.</p>
<p>"No, you're wrong, I can't like him," Neji said as he looked at Gaara again. "It's not right, my family would never approve." Suigetsu just looked at him as if he were crazy, not believing that he would sacrifice his happiness for his family's approval.</p>
<p>"Your family should be happy for you as long as you're happy," Suigetsu said, wishing that everyone felt the same way he did about the subject. "It shouldn't matter if it is with a boy or a girl," he continued. When he saw the look on Neji's face, he knew that for some people that just didn't happen.</p>
<p>"You don't understand how traditional the Hyuuga family is obviously," Neji said. He once again looked at Gaara, feeling he'd never have what he wanted. He felt like he should just do what his family expected of him and find a nice girl to settle down with and ignore his feelings for Gaara. That would be the easy thing to do.</p>
<p>"Well sooner or later someone has to break tradition, you just have to be ready to lose your family if they don't accept the real you," Suigetsu offered. Neji frowned, remaining silent as he processed Suigetsu’s words. He'd never been one to against his family and he wasn't sure he was ready to start.</p>
<p>"Tenten is the safe choice," Neji pointed out after a moment. "I am meant to be with Tenten," he said, though he didn’t even believe his own words.</p>
<p>"Is she really the choice that will make you happy?" he asked. Neji just sighed, feeling more confused than he did when Suigetsu walked over. Before Suigetsu came over, he thought he'd chosen Tenten because she was safe, but Suigetsu had him questioning if it would truly make him happy. Rather than thinking about it, Neji just took a drink and decided he didn't want to think anymore that night.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>"Dude, I," Naruto started to say, however, he tripped which cut off his sentence and started the laughter. Kiba gave him an irritated look, part of him wishing he were on Naruto’s level of happy. "I am so drunk," Naruto continued, dragging out the "so" and slurring his words.</p>
<p>Kiba just shook his head and looked at their other drunken companion, Sasuke, who wasn't any better off than Naruto. The brunette regretted sending Suigetsu away when Hinata came over. Once Hinata left he was alone with Naruto and Sasuke. At first it didn’t matter, Naruto and Sasuke were too focused on each other to care about him, but once they stopped making out they pulled him into the conversation. He could only blame himself for the situation he was in, knowing he couldn't let his best friend attempt to get back to his dorm on his own in his condition.</p>
<p>Kiba was glad when they made it to the dorm with only a few incidents of falling on the stairs. He was just happy Naruto and Sasuke weren't being all touchy feely like they were at the party, he wasn't sure he could handle that the whole way to the dorm.</p>
<p>"Come on give me your key," Kiba said, hoping they'd make this easy on him.</p>
<p>"I don't know where I put it," Sasuke drunken smirk appeared on his face as he leaned on Naruto.</p>
<p>"Come on, it's got you be in one of your pockets. I know you're drunk Sasuke, but you’re not a moron," Kiba sighed, wishing he'd drank more at the party so he could be as happy as the two roommates. The look Sasuke gave Naruto let Kiba know the dark haired teen knew exactly what he was doing as he practically dared the blonde to find it for him with just a look.</p>
<p>"I'll look for it for him," Naruto grinned and looked at Sasuke as if he were his prey and pushed the raven up against the wall as started to search his pockets while kissing his neck. Naruto took the opportunity grab Sasuke’s ass as he searched his back pockets far longer than necessary. "Not in the back pockets," Naruto said as he started to kiss Sasuke and searched his front pockets. Kiba could not believe he was standing there watching them make out just so he could make sure his friend got in his room. Just as he thought about leaving, Naruto said, "Found it."</p>
<p>Kiba rolled his eyes as he took the key. "It couldn't have took that long to search his pockets," he said under his breath.</p>
<p>"What'd you say?" Naruto asked with a smile as Kiba unlocked the door.</p>
<p>"I said get inside," he huffed as he handed Sasuke his key back, knowing it'd probably get lost somewhere in the room that night. He didn't want to know what they were going to do once they were alone, but hope that they wouldn’t do something they’d both regret. His job was only to make sure they got to the room safely. As he walked away he couldn't help but think that Naruto was right; Sasuke certainly did find him more than tolerable when he was drunk.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. The Morning After</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kiba and Suigetsu walked down the hall Tuesday morning, feeling surprisingly good for having gone out the previous night. "I wonder how they're doing considering they both have class today," Suigetsu laughed. They both knew that Sasuke and Naruto had a lot to drink, while they had taken it easy for once.</p>
<p>"Should we go wake the sleeping beauties up?" Kiba smirked. Suigetsu smiled as he followed Kiba down the hall.</p>
<p>"We shall," he replied. He found it odd how comfortable he was with Kiba so quickly. He knew he found it relatively easy to adapt to people, however he and Kiba became friends faster than normal. Suigetsu found it refreshing to have a friend that wasn’t as dramatic as Sasuke. He loved Sasuke like a brother, but the teen’s moodiness could be exhausting sometimes, even if he had very valid reason for how he acted.</p>
<p>"Think it's unlocked?" Kiba asked. He thought it might be a dumb question considering how drunk the two were the night before he doubted that they actually locked the door.</p>
<p>"You told me earlier that they were falling down the stairs, I highly doubt they locked their door," Suigetsu pointed out. "But we can always just try it and see," he added. Kiba nodded, knowing he was right. “Hopefully we won’t be too traumatized by what we see.”</p>
<p>Suigetsu turned the knob, opening the door. "I guess that answers the question," Kiba smirked. "Now for the fun part," he grinned as he walked in. He stopped short though we he looked at the position the two were in. "Do you have your phone?" Kiba asked, wanting blackmail this time. “I need a camera ASAP.”</p>
<p>"Use your phone, I don’t need that shit on mine," Suigetsu said, trying to be quiet so he didn't wake them up. Kiba pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of the two sleeping.</p>
<p>The two were tangled up in the same bed, luckily still fully clothed. They had their arms and legs all intertwined together and their faces were mere inches apart. One of Naruto's hands was in Sasuke's hair; the other seemed to be grabbing his butt. One of Sasuke's arms was draped over Naruto, the other disappeared on the side he was laying on. It looked as if they had passed out while making out on Naruto's bed.</p>
<p>"Wake up love birds," Kiba said as he walked over to Sasuke's bed, grabbed a pillow, and threw it at them.</p>
<p>"Leave me alone," Naruto said as he curled further into the heat source that was next to him. He was warm, tired, and happy to be in bed.<em>'Wait, why am I so warm?'</em>Naruto thought, though didn't really care until the heat source moved once another pillow was thrown at them.</p>
<p>"Come on you assholes, get up," Kiba said as he threw a pillow again, causing Sasuke to move.</p>
<p>"What the hell," Sasuke groaned, wondering why he was being woken up. What was worse, he was wondering why he had such a bad headache.<em>'I'm warm I don't want to get up,'</em>Sasuke thought as he almost went back to sleep, not wondering why he was warm or what he was laying on.</p>
<p>"You have class today buddy," Suigetsu said, knowing it would earn him a glare once Sasuke had time to process what he said.</p>
<p>Sasuke finally opened his eyes. It took a moment but he realized he was laying on someone, "What the fuck?" Sasuke said as he quickly moved off the blonde, causing a worse headache than the one he already had. He cursed himself for going out on a Monday night.</p>
<p>"What's going on?" The blonde asked as he sat up just in time to see Sasuke getting off his bed. He was confused as to why Sasuke would be on his bed in the first place; the last thing he remembered from the previous night was making Sasuke drink with him.</p>
<p>"Why was I in your bed?" Sasuke demanded to know. He could feel the hang over which was causing him to sit down or throw up.</p>
<p>"I don't know," Naruto said as he lay back down, trying to remember what happened but the pounding in his head was preventing any coherent thoughts. He just wanted to roll over and go back to sleep.</p>
<p>"What happened last night?" Sasuke looked at Suigetsu. The light haired teen looked at Kiba, they had promised each other not to say anything.</p>
<p>"I don't know," Suigetsu said as he offered his friend some aspirin to try to help the hangover, but he knew it wouldn't do much. He knew that Sasuke was going to see right through that. They knew each other too well and could tell when the other was lying or telling the truth.</p>
<p>"Stop lying to me and tell me what the fuck happened," Sasuke said, pissed off that he let himself drink so much.</p>
<p>"Obviously someone isn't as happy sober as they are drunk," Kiba said, causing Suigetsu to accidentally laugh. Sasuke just glared, looking ready to attack. Kiba wasn't scared; he knew as long as Sasuke had a hangover he couldn't do any harm.</p>
<p>"Let's just tell them," Kiba sighed. He didn't really want to be considered responsible for what happened, but they did have a right to know what they did. It was better that they hear it from them than to find out from people posting pictures and videos on social media.</p>
<p>"Please do so I can go back to bed and sleep this damn hangover off," Sasuke hissed. All he wanted was to know what had happened and to sleep.</p>
<p>"He's a little bitchy when he has a hangover,” Kiba said with a laugh. “Is it cause you let Naruto take control last night?” he teased. Both Naruto and Sasuke's eyes widened at his words.</p>
<p>"Excuse me?" Sasuke asked, hoping he didn't hear him right.</p>
<p>"You guys were practically attached at the hip last night. You were kissing and dancing, all that stuff," Suigetsu explained calmly. Sasuke just looked at him, wondering why his friend wouldn't step in when he saw him getting that drunk.</p>
<p>"I don’t believe you guys," Naruto groaned. While he believed that he would make out with Sasuke, he didn't think Sasuke would make out with him. Sure he’d seen some of the looks Sasuke gave him sometimes, but thought that was wishful thinking on his part.</p>
<p>"I think Ino was taking pictures at one point, it was kind of creepy actually," Kiba said. "But really does it matter, I mean you're both gay," the brunette pointed out. He didn't know if Sasuke wanted that information known to Naruto, but he didn't really care. By the way the two were acting the night before, he felt it should be made very clear to Naruto that Sasuke was gay and vice versa, as if there weren't enough signs as is.</p>
<p>Naruto didn't respond for a moment, all he could think about was his attractive roommate being gay. "I guess it doesn't," he said as he looked at Sasuke, who had kicked Kiba off his bed and was lying on down in the same outfit he wore the night before.</p>
<p>"Come on Sasuke get up, its almost time for class," Suigetsu said as he pulled up the raven.</p>
<p>"I don't wanna," Sasuke said into his pillow. Suigetsu could only smirk at the way he was acting as he pulled his friend out of bed.</p>
<p>"You have to, I'm not going to that creepy teacher's class alone," Suigetsu laughed, knowing that Sasuke didn't really want to miss a day of class. He specifically remembered when they started school that he and Sasuke promised to make each other go to class unless they were truly sick.</p>
<p>"I'm sick," Sasuke said as he lay back down. He tried to rationalize that hung over was a type of sick, at least that’s how he felt in that moment. </p>
<p>"No you're not," Suigetsu pulled him up again. "I don't think being hung over counts as sick," Suigetsu laughed causing Sasuke to sigh and give in. "Glad you agree, now time to get changed." Suigetsu grabbed some clothes out of Sasuke's closet and pushed him into the bathroom so he could get ready. He had purposefully gotten there early enough to ensure Sasuke had time to shower before going to class. He knew that he’d need it.</p>
<p>"You're cruel," Kiba said as he shook his head. Suigetsu just smirked at him, not answering.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>"Why the hell did I out the night before I had class?" Sasuke whined, taking a pause as he thought about why he was going to class. He had a pounding headache, he hardly felt ready to deal going to class, especially one where Orochimaru would be watching him. "I can't believe you got me to go to class," Sasuke said as they walked down the hall. He was a little more coherent after taking his shower. He still wasn't sure if he was awake enough to deal with Orochimaru's class.</p>
<p>"I'd bet ten bucks Naruto doesn't go to class," Suigetsu said with a laugh.</p>
<p>"I'm sure he won't and then I'll be hung over and alone in that class," Sasuke complained. Suigetsu didn’t bother commenting on the fact that Sasuke was complaining about Naruto not being there with him. They walked for a moment in silence before Sasuke asked, "So was it really that bad last night?"</p>
<p>"Well, lets just say you are very forgiving when you're drunk," Suigetsu laughed. "I mean that's the only way I know how to describe it."</p>
<p>"Damn it," Sasuke cursed as he leaned on the wall by their class, waiting for the professor to come and unlock the door. Suigetsu could tell that something was on the raven's mind, he wasn't sure what but he had a feeling it had to do with the previous night. More specifically, it had to do with a certain blonde that he was clearly attracted to no matter how much he tried to deny it.</p>
<p>"It was just dancing and kissing," Suigetsu said, trying to give his friend some peace of mind. "There's nothing major about that, it's not like you were trying to kiss a straight guy this time," he tried to lighten the mood, but Sasuke wasn’t amused.</p>
<p>"That's not the problem," Sasuke said as he closed his eyes.</p>
<p>"Then what is it?" Suigetsu asked, knowing that Sasuke didn't want to answer the question. Whenever he didn't come right out and say it then it usually meant that he didn't really want to admit it to himself or it was something traumatic. In this case he was sure that it was denial.</p>
<p>"I only hit on guys that are my type when I'm drunk," Sasuke said, causing Suigetsu to laugh. Sasuke wanted to act like he didn't remember what happened, but the activities of the previous night had been coming back in bits and pieces the more he thought about it. "It's not funny," he glared, obviously frustrated. "I can't be attracted to that moron!"</p>
<p>"Sasuke, I could have told you a long time ago that he was your type. I mean he's blonde with blue eyes and pretty well built. It's like they guy was made for you," Suigetsu teased. He knew that Sasuke had seen it even if he wouldn’t admit that he’d found the blonde attractive.</p>
<p>"Will you just shut up, please," Sasuke said, not wanting to hear any of what his so-called friend had to say. Suigetsu was right, but that didn’t mean he wanted to admit that he was right. If he were honest, it didn’t surprise him that he flirted with Naruto when he was drunk. What he didn’t understand was why Naruto kissed him back. He knew that Naruto was gay, but he’d made it very clear he wanted to be his friend. He made no indication he wanted anything more than that, not that Sasuke was hoping he would, or at least that’s what he told himself.</p>
<p>"Alright, alright, I'm sorry," Suigetsu laughed. They went silent for a moment before Suigetsu asked, "So what do you think of Kiba?"</p>
<p>"What?” Sasuke asked, feeling that he wasn't awake enough for the day, let alone where this conversation was heading.</p>
<p>"Do you think he's gay or I guess the better word would be bi?" Suigetsu just looked at his feet as he asked the question, suddenly finding everything except Sasuke interesting. He wasn’t even sure why he was asking, he was pretty sure he knew the answer already.</p>
<p>"He's in love with Hinata, you realize that right?" Sasuke asked, not wanting his best friend's heart to get stomped on.</p>
<p>"That doesn't mean he's not bi," Suigetsu pointed out, sounding more hopeful than convinced.</p>
<p>"I've never known him to date guys, but I don't know him that well. You should ask Naruto," Sasuke said, biting his lip just thinking about the blonde. "I wouldn't get your hopes up." He hated seeing his friend so dejected, but he wasn’t going to lie to him and give him false hope.</p>
<p>"I know," Suigetsu frowned. He hated knowing that feelings were likely one-sided, but he knew that it was most likely true that Kiba would end up being straight. He didn't want to ruin their friendship because he kind of liked him.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>"So give me every detail on what happened last night," Naruto demanded once Suigetsu and Sasuke were gone. He needed to know how stupid he was and if he had made a fool of himself.</p>
<p>"Suigetsu already told you guys." Kiba sighed. " You guys had one too many drinks, you danced, and then when you came back you guys started making out and hardly stopped the rest of the night. Really once that started, I just looked away. You're my friend and all but I don't need to see you shoving your tongue down Sasuke's throat," Kiba explained.</p>
<p>"Gee thanks, what a great friend I have for not stopping me," Naruto huffed with sarcasm. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do. He had made progress with Sasuke and he had no idea how this would change things.</p>
<p>"Are you mad that you got Sasuke drunk and still weren't able to get him to strip for you?" Kiba smirked. Naruto threw the pillow at him that Kiba had woken him up with, causing the brunette to laugh. They both knew that he'd never let the blonde forget about what he said when he was drunk.</p>
<p>"Shut up, you are no help," Naruto whined.</p>
<p>"Look, I don't think you would have detached yourself from Sasuke unless I had a crowbar or something to make you," Kiba exaggerated. Naruto sighed. He hadn't meant to go from tolerable to make-out partner just by getting him drunk.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Shikamaru was eating lunch at his usual spot, a grassy hill on the outer ring of the campus. It was quiet and not many people passed by it because there were not many classroom buildings near it, making it the perfect place to find some peace and quiet. His lunch was interrupted when a certain blonde walked up to him. "I knew I'd find you here," Ino said, her annoyance clear in her voice.</p>
<p>"How troublesome," he said under his breath, but she heard it.</p>
<p>"Everything is to you, isn't it?" Ino asked with her arms crossed. She was getting fed up with him not being able to pick whom he wanted to be with.</p>
<p>"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, looking at her.</p>
<p>"It's too troublesome for you to pick who you want to be with, so you just avoid us both the entire night rather than making up your mind," she explained. “You just string us both along and leave us hoping that you’ll eventually make up your mind.</p>
<p>"I wasn't avoiding you," he sighed.</p>
<p>"We both know that's a lie," she looked at him, not convinced by his words.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry that I don't know what I want, but it's just not that simple," he said. She just frowned, deciding that she no longer wanted to be part of the conversation. Ino walked away from him and towards the center of campus, just wanting to get away from Shikamaru. He was just making her more frustrated. As she walked she saw Sai and Sakura talking, or more arguing.</p>
<p>"Hey guys," Ino said as she walked up to them. "What's going on?"</p>
<p>"He keeps calling me ugly when he sees me," she said as she crossed her arms, annoyed. Ino could only laugh.</p>
<p>"It's a nickname, is that not what people do?" Sai asked.</p>
<p>"They're generally nicer," Ino explained, feeling sorry for Sai's lack of social skills.</p>
<p>"You're just not offended by him because he calls you pretty," Sakura crossed her arms, annoyed.</p>
<p>"It's not my fault he says what he thinks," Ino shrugged; happy she walked up to them. She could always count on Sakura's antics to cheer her up.</p>
<p>"Whatever," she mumbled but she was still not happy about it. "Anyways how was the party?"</p>
<p>"Fun," Ino said, deciding not to tell her about Sasuke and Naruto. Sakura was generally a good, caring person, but something changed when it came to Sasuke. Ino understood, she had once been in the same boat, thinking that she could be the one for him. She wished Sakura could move on and accept that she’d never be with him.</p>
<p>"Did anything interesting happen?" she asked, never wanting to be one to not know gossip. She normally would have gone, but she had a test coming up and was studying like a responsible college student.</p>
<p>"Nope, you didn't miss anything she said before Sai had the chance to tell her the truth. She looked at Sai, giving him a look trying to tell him not to say anything. He kept his mouth shut and Ino just smiled, making sure Sakura none the wiser about what happened. Ino knew if she should probably tell her, but the middle of campus was not the time or place. She wasn’t sure how the other girl would react to finding out the guy she thought she was in love with was all over Naruto at the party.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Avoidance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Avoidance seemed to be the way the week progressed, neither Sasuke nor Naruto seemed to make an effort to speak or look at each other. They didn't want to have to talk about that night and what happened between them. The problem was that it was all either of them could think about when they looked at one another. It had been exactly a week and Naruto was hoping that maybe it had all just blown over, "What are you doing today?"</p>
<p>"Hanging out with Suigetsu," was Sasuke's short and simple answer. He didn't ask anything back, he didn't look at him, and he didn't invite him to come with, not that he really expected an invite. Naruto was certain that Sasuke was avoiding him at all costs, even if he was trying not to show it.</p>
<p>"Oh," Naruto said as he looked at his feet. He didn't get a reply, Sasuke just simply walked out of the room. The raven didn't want the conversation to go on any longer. He didn't want the blonde asking any more questions and he certainly didn't want to look at him any longer than necessary.</p>
<p>Sasuke still hadn't gotten what had happened figured out in his head, he didn't understand his actions. He knew he found Naruto attractive, so that should be enough to just let him move on and accept that that was why he kissed him while drunk. His mind, however, wouldn't let him accept that answer, it just kept coming back to the blonde even though Sasuke didn't want it to.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>"So tell me again why we can't hang out in your room?" Suigetsu asked as they sat in his room. Juugo was listening on the opposite bed, though he pretended that he wasn't. Their friend had started to feel left out lately because Kiba and Suigetsu had become friends and so they started to hang out with Naruto and Kiba more than him. He hadn’t felt comfortable asking to join the group.</p>
<p>"Because he's there," Sasuke said, making Suigetsu roll his eyes. Juugo was confused as to what the big deal was.</p>
<p>"You need to get over it, it was just kissing and dancing," Suigetsu said. Sasuke sighed as he sunk into the chair he was sitting in. Juugo looked at Sasuke's reaction and knew it was more about whom he kissed rather than the kiss itself.</p>
<p>"Who'd he kiss?" Juugo asked. Suigetsu looked at his roommate, he had forgotten he was still in the room. Sasuke frowned, not wanting anyone else to know about his misfortune of kissing the blonde.</p>
<p>"Naruto and it's not that big of a deal," Suigetsu said as he looked at Sasuke. The raven just crossed his arms, showing that he disagreed.</p>
<p>Juugo remained silent, taking all of the information in about the events that he's been missing. Sasuke noticed that he seemed to be processing and suddenly realized how much they had been leaving him out. "You know you could start hanging out with us when we hang out with Kiba and Naruto," he invited him, also trying to use it to change the subject. Juugo just nodded, not showing how happy he was for the invite.</p>
<p>"Yeah, you've been missing a lot, like how much Sasuke and Naruto flirt but pretend that they aren't," Suigetsu said, knowing he was going to get at least a look. Instead of a glare, he got a light punch to the arm, which he admits he deserved.</p>
<p>"We aren't flirting, I've never flirted with that moron. At least not that I can remember," Sasuke argued, making sure to cover for when he was drunk. He didn't know if he said anything stupid when he was drunk, he couldn't remember much of anything from that night. All he knew was he had drank way too much and that he enjoyed kissing Naruto far more than he cared to admit.</p>
<p>"What, you'd guys be good together. I mean he's good for you, he makes you loosen up," Suigetsu smiled, knowing he'd get yelled at again. He was pushing Sasuke's buttons and having fun doing so.</p>
<p>"I'm serious Suigetsu, shut up," Sasuke said, wondering why the light haired teen was his best friend. He sighed, knowing that he'd have to take crap for the night until someone else did something for everyone to talk about. He hadn’t dared to look at social media, not wanting to see the pictures that were out there and that he was probably tagged in. It wasn’t as if he used social media often, he only had it because Suigetsu made them for him.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>"I saw you talking to Tenten last night," Gaara said as he and Neji sat outside near the redhead's next class. It was a conversation that Neji wasn't sure he was ready to have, he wasn't sure was ready to make a choice. He looked at Gaara, knowing that his family wouldn't accept the younger man as his lover.</p>
<p>"Yeah, she's a great girl," he shrugged; turning away he didn't want to have to look at Gaara as he hurt him.</p>
<p>"I see," Gaara frowned; having a feeling that he knew what that meant. He knew that Neji was scared because he thought no one in his family would approve of him being gay. Part of him figured it would turn out this way, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry," Neji said. He never wanted to hurt Gaara, he wanted to be able to go against his family, but he couldn't. He hoped that maybe Gaara knew that he was the one who truly had his heart and maybe that would be enough, even if he couldn't have him, but he knew that wouldn't really mean anything to him. In reality actions speak louder than words, his actions were probably saying that Gaara wasn't enough. "I do want to be with you, I just can't."</p>
<p>Gaara was silent for a moment. He looked at Neji and said, "It's fine; I just didn't know Hyuugas were cowards." He got up to walk away, but Neji immediately pulled him back.</p>
<p>"What the hell does that mean?" Neji was infuriated that anyone would call his family cowards. Gaara just looked at him, his eyes were unreadable and if he didn’t know better he would think Gaara didn’t care, but Neji just knew that was to cover up how hurt he truly was.</p>
<p>"You're a coward, you won't go against your family because you're scared, so you're going with the simple choice," Gaara reasoned. Neji was silent; he didn't have a response, or at least not one that would make everything better. Gaara just looked at him and frowned as he walked away. Neji wanted to call out to stop him, but there was nothing more to be said, it was over.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Naruto hated avoiding people, one of the only things he hated more was being avoided. He hated the way he and Sasuke were acting and just wanted them to get back to where they were before the party and before the journal incident. He just wanted them to be friends. He didn't want to be tolerable, he didn't want to be make-out partners at parties, and he certainly didn't want to be avoiding each other. He just wanted to be hanging out like they used to with Kiba and Suigetsu.</p>
<p>As he walked through campus he spotted Sasuke and found the perfect opportunity. He quickly ran up to him, "Sasuke!" The raven tried to ignore him, but the blonde wouldn't take that as he caught up to him, stopping the dark haired teen.</p>
<p>"What do you want?" Sasuke asked, annoyed that he couldn't get away. He looked around to see if they had drawn attention but no one seemed to care.</p>
<p>Naruto knew he had to stand his ground and make sure that Sasuke didn’t just walk away from him like he had in the past. He wouldn’t be blown off and ignored forever. "We need to talk," Naruto said, using the most serious tone of voice he'd used in awhile.</p>
<p>"Go away, there's nothing to talk about," Sasuke said as he tried to walk away. Naruto wouldn't let him slip away that quickly, he pulled him back by the arm, making them a little too close. Sasuke blushed at the position they were in and cursed himself for his reaction to the blonde as the memories from that night involuntarily popped into his mind. Naruto couldn't help but like the reaction he got from Sasuke as he saw the blush that dusted the pale cheeks of the other teen, it made him not want to let go. "You've made me stop, I think you can let go now," Sasuke said, his voice not quite as steady as it usual. Naruto let go, causing Sasuke to back away. Sasuke decided not to attempt to walk away again. He didn't want a repeat of what had just happened, he didn’t want to have those memories flood his mind.</p>
<p>"Now that I've got you here, we can talk,” Naruto stared at him expectantly.</p>
<p>"What do you want to talk about?" Sasuke sighed, getting his emotions under control. He didn't understand why the blonde made him react the way he did. Naruto annoyed the crap out of him, yet every time they were in compromising positions it made him blush.</p>
<p>"The other night and don't say there is nothing to talk about because we both know there is," Naruto said. Sasuke bit his lip, knowing he really didn't want to talk about the party but he knew that Naruto wouldn’t give up that easily.</p>
<p>"What about it?" Sasuke asked. He knew he'd been avoiding the blonde and figured that Naruto was pissed about it, but it wasn’t as if Naruto hadn’t been avoiding him too. Neither of them had made much of an effort to talk until Naruto’s recent actions. Suddenly Naruto wanted to talk and Sasuke wasn’t sure he had the answers.</p>
<p>"You're avoiding me, you have been since the party," Naruto said. Sasuke just looked at his feet. He didn't know how to reply, so he decided not to. After a moment of silence, Naruto said, "I'm serious, why have you been avoiding me? It was just a kiss, can't we just get over it?"</p>
<p>“Talk about the pot calling the kettle black, you’ve been avoiding me too,” Sasuke tried to deflect the blame onto him.</p>
<p>“Well, I’m not anymore,” Naruto argued. “I don’t want to keep doing this. We were making progress even if you claim you were just tolerating me.”</p>
<p>Sasuke was about to respond when he saw Orochimaru. The man was looking straight at him, smirking at him. Sasuke was frozen as Naruto tried to get him to respond. The blonde was confused and started to look for what could have distracted Sasuke, that was when he saw the man looking straight at him.</p>
<p>"Sasuke, who is that?" Naruto asked, snapping the raven out of whatever spell the man had put on him. He got no response from Sasuke other than being pulled away from where the man was sitting. "Sasuke what's wrong? What's going on?"</p>
<p>"Shut up," Sasuke ordered, he could feel his heart racing in his chest. He just had to get away from Orochimaru, but he wouldn't do it alone. He wouldn't give the man the opportunity to catch him alone. "You want me to stop avoiding you, I will, just shut up." Naruto went silent as he looked back at the man, wondering what just happened.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Black & Blue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Serious trigger warning for this chapter..</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sasuke had always tried to avoid walking alone at night. Despite the campus lights it was dark enough to make him paranoid. He figured that Orochimaru would have left campus by that time given it was far later than Sasuke’s usual schedule. Usually if he were out after dark it meant that hew as going somewhere with someone else and didn’t feel a need to worry. That night was different, that night he was alone.</p>
<p>He had been meeting with the people he had been paired with for his History 101 class. They had agreed to split the project by section and would make it cohesive towards the end of the semester, which he knew was code for someone not doing their share and the rest of them picking up the slack last minute. It was fine with him; he hated group projects and preferred to do extra work rather than meeting up to work on it together.</p>
<p>As he walked through campus he reluctantly decided to take a shortcut through the parking lot near the dorms. It had poor lighting but was small and he figured he could cross it quickly without incident. The lot was empty due to classes having been long done and most people that didn’t reside in the dorms had left campus. Sasuke was on high alert as he crossed the dimly lit parking lot. His heart started to race when he heard a rustle in the bushes. He let out a deep breath when he saw a stray cat come out of the bush.</p>
<p>When Sasuke turned to continue walking he was face to face with a very familiar set of eyes. He looked around but no one was in sight. His heart sunk when he noticed the man had managed to find the one blind spot in the campus cameras’ range. The paralyzing fear prevented him from doing anything other than stare at Orochimaru.</p>
<p>“Hello Sasuke,” the man grinned. “Let’s take a ride,” he roughly pushed Sasuke into his nearby car. It felt like an out of body experience as he obeyed Orochimaru’s demands. “I’ve missed this,” the older man smirked; satisfied with the affect he had on the teen.</p>
<p>Sasuke looked out the window as they drove. He knew exactly where they were going. It was the only pace he had the privacy to do whatever he wanted. “My roommate will notice if I’m not back,” he finally gained the courage to say.</p>
<p>“You mean Naruto?” the man scoffed. “He’s out with friends, I don’t think he’ll be home for a while. Who knows, maybe he’ll find someone to go home with,” the man taunted.</p>
<p>“How do you know that?” Sasuke’s eyes widened as he realized he wasn’t the only one Orochimaru had been keeping tabs on.</p>
<p>“When it comes to you, I know everything.” His words were ominous and made him realize that no one around him was truly safe.</p>
<p>“Leave them out of this,” his voice was shaky. He was terrified at the thought of other people getting hurt because of him. He didn’t want someone in danger just because they were associated with him in some way.</p>
<p>“We’ll see,” it was left unsaid that the way he handled the current situation would determine the outcome. If he were ‘good’ then nothing bad would happen to them, but if he were ‘bad’ and fought back he’d be putting other people at risk.</p>
<p>They were silent the rest of the drive. The Uchiha manor was secluded and the perfect place for complete privacy. There were no nearby neighbors to hear or see anything. He could do whatever he wanted without anybody knowing. Sasuke didn’t say anything when they arrived; he simply followed directions, feeling helpless in that moment.</p>
<p>Once inside he was immediately shoved against the wall. He wasn’t sure what it was but he could feel a sharp edge against his back. “You think you can kick me and get away with it?” the older man growled before throwing Sasuke to the floor. There was a swift kick to his gut. This time the man didn’t hold back, “You need to be taught a lesson”</p>
<p>Orochimaru lifted him up from the ground. “You’re pathetic,” he spat as he held Sasuke against the wall by the neck. After a moment he seemed to have realized it could leave a visible bruise and dropped him.</p>
<p>Sasuke fell to the ground trying to catch his breath. He looked at the other man terrified. It had gotten bad before, but he had never gone for the throat. He looked around for an escape route but knew that there was none. Even if he could escape, Orochimaru would find him faster than he could get help. The older man had taken away his belongings, including his phone.</p>
<p>Orochimaru looked him over with a predatory stare. “You always have been rather pretty and now you’re an adult,” he said as he unbuckled his belt. The man smirked at the look in Sasuke’s eyes, “But we’ll save that for next time.”</p>
<p>Sasuke wasn’t sure if the man had meant it or if it was just another one of his mind games. All he knew was that he was finding it hard to breathe. The words ‘next time’ rang through his mind, hoping there would never be a next time. He wanted to say something in response but couldn’t out of fear of retaliation. All he could do was close his eyes as he felt Orochimaru’s belt whip against his back. There was no doubt in his mind that there would be marks left. It was as if the man had known that the old bruises had faded and felt like he had to make new ones so Sasuke could never forget what he could do.</p>
<p>Sasuke wasn’t sure how long the beating had gone on, but he knew Orochimaru must have realized that Naruto may not stay out all night and he needed to get him back to the dorms before anyone noticed he was gone. “Get up,” he demanded. Sasuke forced himself to move through the pain. He felt nauseous, like he might pass out, but he wouldn’t let himself succumb to the feeling. The older man clearly got tired of waiting, pulling Sasuke up by the arm and pulling him towards his car before shoving him into the car.</p>
<p>After what felt like hours, but was really only thirty minutes, they arrived back to campus. “Get out,” Orochimaru ordered. “And I suggest you not tell anyone about our meeting tonight,” he didn’t actually threaten him, but his tone said it all. If Sasuke said something there would be consequences.</p>
<p>Sasuke wasn’t sure how he’d made it back to his dorm. Everything had been a blur. He stumbled through the door, hoping Naruto wasn’t there to see him in such a state. He cursed when he saw a worried looking blonde staring at him.</p>
<p>“There you are. We’ve been worried about you,” he rushed over to help Sasuke. “What the hell happened?”</p>
<p>When Naruto reached him, Sasuke freaked out at the smallest touch, quickly pushing him away, “Don’t touch me!” Sasuke was breathing hard, a terrified look in his eyes. Logically he knew Naruto wasn’t going to hurt him, but he couldn’t help but be scared at the thought of someone else touching him.</p>
<p>“Can you give us a minute, Naruto?” Suigetsu spoke up. It wasn’t until that moment that Sasuke had even realized the other man was in the room. Naruto reluctantly agreed and left the room, though they all knew he wasn’t going to go far.</p>
<p>“What are you doing here?” Sasuke asked as he curled up in a ball on his bed. Suigetsu knew something was very wrong when the dark haired teen didn’t even bother to take his shoes off. He was visibly shaking and refused to make eye contact.</p>
<p>Suigetsu’s heart sank as he saw Sasuke’s condition. “Naruto text me when you weren’t here when he got back to see if you were with me. I came over because I was concerned.” He stared at his friend, trying to assess the situation. “What the hell happened?”</p>
<p>“Nothing, I’m fine,” Sasuke lied.</p>
<p>“Bullshit,” Suigetsu crossed his arms. “I know the difference between fine and this.” He looked to the door and quieted his voice, “Tell me what Orochimaru did.” He knew that Orochimaru was the only thing that could make Sasuke so scared.</p>
<p>“I can’t,” Sasuke replied weakly. He could tell that Suigetsu wasn’t going to back down. “He made it very clear that I’m not the only one he’s watching. I don’t know what he’ll do if I talk about it and honestly I don’t want to talk about it,” he looked at the door where Naruto had left, wondering if it had been a good idea to let Naruto leave alone after what Orochimaru had said. He told himself that he had been good, that Orochimaru wouldn’t do anything, but that didn’t stop his anxiety.</p>
<p>“You know I’m not going to tell anyone. You need to tell me what happened,” Suigetsu said softly. He didn’t make any sudden movements or try to touch him. The other teen was like a scared animal: skittish and ready to run or attach at any time. “Please Sasuke.” </p>
<p>“I just want to go to bed,” he responded sadly. “I’m tired.”</p>
<p>“I don’t think that’s a good idea, you might have a concussion,” he argued.</p>
<p>“He didn’t hit me in the head,” Sasuke mumbled.</p>
<p>“But he did hit you,” Suigetsu deduced. He knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it from Sasuke. He wanted him to open up to him and talk about it.</p>
<p>Sasuke’s eyes widened as he realized his mistake. He knew that he could talk to the other teen about what had happened, but he still hadn’t completely processed it enough to talk. “Yes. Can we talk about this tomorrow? I just need some time.”</p>
<p>Suigetsu nodded, he knew it wasn’t something that’d be easy for him to talk about, “Okay. I understand. Just do me a favor, don’t kill your roommate if he tries to touch you again.”</p>
<p>“No promises,” Suigetsu mumbled. His mind was finally clear enough for him to move his legs and take off his shoes. “I’m, uh, going to take a shower.” He didn’t have to say he was going to try to wash off the feeling of Orochimaru’s hands on him, that much was understood.</p>
<p>Suigetsu nodded again and watched as the other teen grabbed clothes and walked into the bathroom. “You can come back in now,” he called to Naruto. He knew that the blonde had been waiting on the other side of the door.</p>
<p>Naruto walked in sheepishly, trying to act as if he weren’t trying to listen in on the conversation. By the look on his face Suigetsu knew that they had been talking too quietly for the other teen to hear. “Is he okay?” Naruto looked towards the bathroom door, hearing the shower running.</p>
<p>“Honestly? No, but he will be. Just give him some space and don’t ask questions or try to touch him,” Suigetsu instructed. He knew it’d probably be impossible for the other man to not ask questions, but at least he could say he tried to warn him. “You’re already on thin ice,” he reminded him.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Sasuke turned on the shower, letting the water run as he looked in the mirror. He was scared to take off his shirt, to see the damage Orochimaru had caused. He sighed before slowly taking off his shirt. He turned to survey the damage. Sasuke knew that over the next twenty-four hours it would only look worse. He could see the welts from Orochimaru’s belt on his back and the start of the bruising from his fists and foot on his stomach. He looked at his neck, remembering the feeling of Orochimaru’s hands around his throat. There wasn’t any bruising but he could still feel it as if his hand were still wrapped around his neck.</p>
<p>Once Sasuke got in the shower he let the water run over his body as he stood there staring at the wall. He felt numb as his legs gave out and he slid down the wall until he was sitting. He tried to be quiet as he felt the tears fall, feeling like his world was crumbling down around him. He silently sobbed, wishing the water could wash away his memory.</p>
<p>Despite the shower, Sasuke still didn’t feel clean. It was as if he were tainted somehow just by a touch. When he walked out of the bathroom he could tell that Naruto was pretending to be asleep. He wasn’t sure what Suigetsu must have said to him to get him not to ask any questions, but he was thankful for it. He was already awkward around the blonde; he didn’t want it to be worse.</p>
<p>Sasuke winced as he tried to lay down, finding it would be impossible to sleep on his back. He rolled onto his stomach, which was only slightly less painful. He tried to close his eyes, but all he saw was Orochimaru’s face staring back at him.</p>
<p>He let out a deep breath as he stared at the wall. When he finally fell asleep it was restless. He had lost count how many times he had woken up that night, his heart racing as the memories flooded his nightmares. As the sun began to rise he knew that there was no point in trying to get back to sleep. Part of him knew that he should probably see someone for his own mental health.</p>
<p>Throughout his teenage years his brother had gotten him to see a therapist a few times and Orochimaru couldn’t argue because it would be suspicious, but Sasuke hated talking to his therapist. He was no longer a minor, they had no obligation to report abuse, but he already knew what a therapist would say. He’d be told he needs to contact the authorities or they would want to put him on medication to help him cope. He didn’t want that, just the thought of it made him feel weak no matter how many people told him it isn’t weak to admit he needed help.</p>
<p>Sasuke let out a deep breath, running his hand over his shoulder where he could feel a bruise forming. He looked at Naruto, thinking about how the teen had no idea that he might be in danger. He had come to accept the fact that Naruto didn’t read his journal. If he knew what was going on then there’d be no question as to what had happened that night. He looked far too clueless as to what was going on and Sasuke knew he wasn’t that good of an actor.</p>
<p>Naruto moved in his sleep almost as if he knew that Sasuke was thinking about him. He didn’t think the other teen would wake up, but he shifted his eyes so he wouldn’t be caught staring. He didn’t understand why Naruto cared so much. He told himself that the other teen was just nosy. He’d never admit it, but a small part of him wanted it to be more than that. It confused him and he wasn’t ready to confront why he felt that way.</p>
<p>As he once again looked at Naruto it seemed that his tired mind didn’t get the memo that thoughts of Naruto were off limits. It may have distracted him from thoughts of Orochimaru, but secretly watching his roommate sleep was probably considered creepy on multiple levels.</p>
<p>Sasuke sighed as he rolled over to face away from the blonde. He wished he could fall back asleep but settled for staring at the wall as he tried to think about anyone or anything other than Orochimaru.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Suigetsu didn’t want to bombard Sasuke with more questions, but so much was still unsaid. He knew the other teen didn’t’ want to talk about it, but it was obvious that he needed to talk to someone. He could tell by Sasuke’s disheveled appearance that the teen hadn’t slept. “Please, just tell me what happened,” Suigetsu begged. They were sitting alone in his room, Juugo having left for class fifteen minutes prior.</p>
<p>“I told you, I can’t,” Sasuke protested quietly. He had been acting paranoid all day as if he thought someone would hear them no matte where they were. It was clear he didn’t feel safe no matter where they went.</p>
<p>“Do I need to call your brother?” Suigetsu threatened. He knew it would probably be a good idea. If anyone could get Sasuke to talk it would be his brother.</p>
<p>Sasuke sighed as he thought about it for a moment, “Fine, I’ll tell you. Please don’t call Itachi. That’s my choice, not yours.” Sasuke explained what happened as Suigetsu sat quietly, anger building the more he learned. “It’s my fault, I should have known better than to walk alone at night,” he frowned as he finished recounting the incident, leaving out details the other teen didn’t need to know. Suigetsu didn’t need to hear every detail of the beating, nor did he want to.</p>
<p>“Sasuke, it’s not your fault. None of this is your fault. You should be able to walk across campus without worrying about getting kidnapped and beaten.” He understood that victims of long term abuse often blamed themselves, but it didn’t make it any easier to hear. No one deserved to go through what Sasuke had been through, except the snake that beat him. He’d whole-heartedly support someone beating Orochimaru to death while proving the person an alibi and a medal.</p>
<p>Sasuke didn’t respond. He looked away, still thinking about Orochimaru’s words. Between the threats to hurt other people and his sexual comment, Sasuke wanted to erase the memory of every word that had been said that night. The implication sent a shiver down his spine and a hope that he was only saying it to scare him, not because he meant it. He didn’t tell Suigetsu about that comment; it wasn’t something he needed to know.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>“You’re unusually quiet today,” Kiba said as he and Naruto ate lunch. The blonde hadn’t said much that day, not even to complain about Sasuke. Lately he’d had at least one Sasuke rant a day.</p>
<p>“What?” Naruto turned his attention to his friend. “Sorry, something happened last night and I’m still trying to process it.” Naruto couldn’t help but think about the previous night. Sasuke had seemed so shaken and he didn’t understand why.</p>
<p>“Should have known it was something about Sasuke,” Kiba chuckled. “What happened?”</p>
<p>“I didn’t say anything about Sasuke,” Naruto said defensively.</p>
<p>“You didn’t have to. Nothing happened when we went out so that only leaves one other person,” Kiba explained. “It’s not like you went home with anyone last night, you’re too hung up on Sasuke.”</p>
<p>“I am not hung up on Sasuke. He’s my friend, that’s all,” Naruto shook his head, he was just happy he could call him a friend again. “Anyway, I don’t even know how to explain it. First, he wasn’t there when I got back last night so I text Suigetsu and he was super freaked out that we didn’t know where Sasuke went. Then, he finally comes back super late, which is unlike him, and he seemed terrified and nearly attacked me for even touching him. Of course, they force me out of my own room so they can talk. I have no idea what happened, but Sasuke has been acting strange ever since,” he sighed. “I’m just really confused and Suigetsu was super vague about the whole thing. He told me to just let it go, but how the fuck am I supposed to just let it go? I have a weird feeling it has something to do with this weird dude that was staring at him the other day, but I have no idea who the guy is.”</p>
<p>“I sense a really bad idea coming,” Kiba knew the blonde far too well and he knew this was not going to go the way he thought. “I want no part of it.”</p>
<p>“I haven’t even come up with a plan yet,” Naruto huffed. He knew he had to find out who that man was that was staring at Sasuke. He was sure that was going to be the first piece of solving the puzzle that is Sasuke.</p>
<p>“Still, when you do come up with something, I want no part in it,” Kiba told him.</p>
<p>Naruto knew that he should follow Suigetsu’s directions and just let it go, but he couldn’t. Naruto didn’t have an explanation as to why he wouldn’t drop the subject; he just knew he couldn’t leave it alone. He needed to get to the bottom f whatever was going on. He couldn’t explain his obsession with knowing other than just curiosity, or so he told himself.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Sasuke had thought he was fine and then the first class after his run in with Orochimaru occurred. He knew that he probably looked crazy staring at the door trying to work up the nerve to walk inside. He knew what was awaiting him on the other side. He knew that he’d feel Orochimaru staring at him the entire class as he always did, but this time it was different. It felt like the first time he’d seen him walk into the room all over again, only the fear was amplified with the knowledge that not living with him didn’t mean that he was protected.</p>
<p>“We can skip today,” Suigetsu suggested, trying to not force Sasuke to enter before he was ready. They was only a couple minutes left before class started so he knew if they were going in then they should do it before class was set to start so they didn’t bring any additional attention to themselves. While being in college meant that it was their choice if they went to class or not, he didn’t want any excuse for the professor to try to get Sasuke to stay after class again if they walked in late.</p>
<p>“I can do this,” Sasuke responded. His voice was quiet and shaky, making Suigetsu think it might be a bad idea to go in but he knew there was no convincing Sasuke to leave. He had too much pride to turn and run. “Let’s go,” Sasuke took a deep breath and walked into the room. Suigetsu frowned and reluctantly followed the other teen into the classroom.</p>
<p>Suigetsu felt weird watching Sasuke almost the entire class rather than paying attention to the professor. He was trying to gauge Sasuke’s mental state in that moment. He could tell the other teen was trying to shield his emotions, pretending that everything was fine when in reality he was breaking down on the inside. He knew Sasuke well enough to know that you could never trust his outside appearance to reflect what he was truly feeling inside.</p>
<p>The hour-long class had felt so much longer to Sasuke. He knew Suigetsu was trying to judge if he were okay, which was annoying, but the worst part was feeling Orochimaru’s knowing eyes on him. When class was dismissed he practically ran out of the room, not caring about the looks he was getting. Once he was far enough away from the class he slowed down to catch his breath as Suigetsu caught up with him.</p>
<p>“You okay?” Suigetsu asked, out of breath.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Sasuke lied. “I need to get to my next class,” he told him as he quickly walked in the direction of his math class. Suigetsu knew that he was definitely not fine no matter what he said.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Research</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I told you that I want nothing to do with this plan,” Kiba groaned as he and Naruto were walking through campus on a wild goose chase for the man Naruto had seen staring at Sasuke. “Can’t you just leave me out of this?” he sighed, though he continued to follow Naruto.</p>
<p>Naruto shook his head, “Nope, I need someone with me in case I see Sasuke and he asks what I’m doing.”</p>
<p>“Why would he ask what you’re doing? I think he’s made it pretty clear he really doesn’t care what you do with your free time,” Kiba argued. “He’s not as obsessed with you as you are with him.”</p>
<p>“I’m not obsessed, I’m curious,” Naruto countered as he looked around. They were in the area where he had last seen the man, but he was nowhere in sight. “Just in case I need an alibi I need you here.”</p>
<p>“You sound like you’re committing a crime,” Kiba rolled his eyes as he watched Naruto basically search for a needle in a haystack.</p>
<p>Naruto looked at Kiba, “We both know Sasuke would probably consider this a crime if he found out what I was doing.” Kiba could only nod, knowing it was true that he’d think Naruto’s nosiness as another form of invasion of his privacy.</p>
<p>Before Kiba could respond he saw Hinata walking with Sakura out of the corner of his eye. He grinned, no longer paying attention to anything Naruto said as he walked in their direction. Kiba could hear Naruto call after him but he ignored his friend in favor of talking to Hinata. “Hey Hinata,” he smiled as he walked up to the girls, completely ignoring Sakura’s presence.</p>
<p>"Hello Kiba," Hinata smiled. "What are you guys doing?" she asked as Naruto caught up with Kiba. The blonde was glaring at Kiba for interrupting his plans to flirt with a girl.</p>
<p>"The moron is doing research on Sasuke," Kiba laughed. Naruto elbowed him in the side, which just made him laugh more. “Was that supposed to be a secret?”</p>
<p>“Shut up,” Naruto looked at Sakura for her reaction.</p>
<p>"What do you mean research?" Sakura asked. She wondered why her friend wouldn't come to her if he wanted to know something about Sasuke. It wasn’t a secret that she was practically an expert when it came to Sasuke. Her obsession with him was one of the only things that bothered Naruto about her. </p>
<p>"She might know something you should ask her," Kiba pointed out.</p>
<p>Naruto debated if he wanted to pull Sakura into whatever he was trying to discover. Part of him thought it wasn’t a good idea because she might say something to Sasuke to try to get on his good side but he went against his better judgment, "Okay so we're trying to figure out who this guy is that was staring at Sasuke the other day. He's old, has long black hair, I think brownish eyes it was hard to tell from a distance." Naruto knew it was a fairly generic description but it was the best he could do since Sasuke had seemed to be in a hurry to get away from the older man. </p>
<p>"Sounds like our business professor's guest speaker," Hinata spoke up timidly. "His name is Orochimaru, President of Sound Incorporated."</p>
<p>"Orochimaru?" Naruto let it sink in. The name sounded oddly familiar but he wasn’t sure why or where he would have heard it. He wasn’t in the business school so it was unlikely any of his professors would have mentioned the man.</p>
<p>"Yeah, he's kind of creepy but he knows a lot about the business world," Hinata nervously played with her fingers. “I’ve always found it odd the way he looks at Sasuke during class but I’ve never seen them actually talk to each other so I just wrote him off as some creepy old guy.”</p>
<p>"See even Hinata thinks he's creepy!" Naruto exclaimed. "Hinata's always right," he added as if her agreement made it true, making Hinata blush.</p>
<p>"You don't even like girls, would you stop flirting with one," Kiba mumbled, annoyed that his best friend was just encouraging Hinata's well-known crush.</p>
<p>"Shut up Kiba," Naruto rolled his eyes. He wasn’t trying to flirt with her; he just wanted information about the older man. "So, back to Orochimaru, do you know anything else about him?" he asked.</p>
<p>"Oh, that's Sasuke's guardian," Sakura said excitedly, happy to show off her knowledge about Sasuke. </p>
<p>"Sasuke's guardian?" Naruto asked, wondering why Sasuke would want to get so far away from the man who had raised him for so long. "Thanks you guys, you really helped." He didn’t want to give the girls any further details regarding his investigation into the relationship between Sasuke and Orochimaru. Sakura would try to join if she knew there was something going on that she didn’t know about and that would likely just make things worse. “Do me a favor and don’t tell Sasuke about this conversation.”</p>
<p>“Why not?” Sakura asked, suddenly concerned about what Naruto was doing.</p>
<p>“He just might take it the wrong way. I don’t want him to think I’m intruding on his life, I was just curious about who the guy is, that’s all. You know how he can be, I don’t want him to be mad at me,” Naruto explained. He hoped it was a good enough explanation to stop Sakura from going directly to Sasuke after their conversation ended.</p>
<p>“Our lips are sealed,” Sakura promised. She knew how Naruto was when it came to knowing what was going on, she figured it was harmless and didn’t want to upset Sasuke for no reason.</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Naruto smiled. “We gotta go but it was good to see you guys,” Naruto started pulling Kiba away from the girls.</p>
<p>"It was nice to see you guys," Kiba smiled, wanting more time to talk to Hinata but following his friend instead. Once they were out of hearing range he asked, "What's the rush? You know who he is, what else is there to know?”</p>
<p>“I know that there’s more to the story. You should have seen how he looked at him, it was really creepy and Sasuke seemed uncomfortable,” Naruto looked around for a place to sit.</p>
<p>“Where are we going?” Kiba asked as he followed his best friend.</p>
<p>"I can't research him in my room," Naruto sighed as they sat down on a bench in the center of campus, knowing it was one of the places Sasuke tended to avoid. Sasuke wasn't much of a people person and it was one of the places on campus that full of people. Naruto pulled his computer out of his bag and typed Orochimaru's name in. He scrolled through the information that popped up on Google. From what Naruto could tell Orochimaru was very influential, or at least it seemed that way by the amount of pictures he had with people in high places and the amount of things he owned.</p>
<p>"Damn, he practically owns the city," Kiba was reading over his shoulder. He figured that he was already pulled into Naruto’s plan, he may as well participate if he were going to be considered guilty by association anyway.</p>
<p>"Yeah," Naruto agreed as he looked at the long list of businesses and property he controlled. "It still doesn't explain why Sasuke fears him."</p>
<p>"Type Sasuke's name in with his," Kiba suggested.</p>
<p>Naruto added Sasuke’s name to the search, bringing up a new set of results. There wasn't anything explicitly bad, but the way he looked at Sasuke sent a shiver down Naruto’s spine. "He seems kind of creepy. Do you see the way he stares at him?" His mind was trying to put the pieces together but nothing seemed to click.</p>
<p>"Sure, but that still doesn't explain Sasuke's fear," Kiba countered. "None of these seem that bad." Naruto remained silent as he stared at the pictures on his computer screen.</p>
<p>"What are you doing?" Suigetsu interrupted them as he looked at the computer screen. He saw Orochimaru and Sasuke on the screen. It made him wonder if Naruto knew more than he was letting on. He looked at Juugo to see his reaction.</p>
<p>"Nothing," Kiba answered as he quickly shut Naruto's computer. They looked at Suigetsu and Juugo, neither of them looked convinced.</p>
<p>"Don't lie, that was Sasuke on your computer screen," Juugo spoke out. He was naturally quiet, but he didn't like being lied to. Lying made him not trust the two teens in front of him. He already didn’t like Naruto much with how Sasuke talked about him, even if Suigetsu assured him that Sasuke liked the blonde more than he let on.</p>
<p>"We were just trying to figure some things out," Naruto explained.</p>
<p>Suigetsu looked at him, he disapproved of his methods, but knew he had the right to be curious. Sasuke’s behavior the previous night would raise red flags for anyone, but he wasn’t sure how he’d connected Orochimaru to it. "How did this come about?" Suigetsu asked, wanting to know how he knew about Orochimaru. Sasuke didn't tell anyone about what Orochimaru did so it made him wonder why he'd look into him.</p>
<p>"I saw him staring at Sasuke the other day and he got all tense, I was just wondering why," Naruto said honestly, though he left out the part about how he thought it might have something to do with what happened the other night. He wasn’t sure how much Juugo knew and he was sure that he probably shouldn’t have told Kiba about it.</p>
<p>"You just don't know when to stop, do you?" Suigetsu sighed, wishing Naruto would just listen to him and leave it alone. "If he wants to tell you he will," Suigetsu told him sternly, making everyone else confused. "I assure you that you won't find the answers you’re looking for on the Internet," Suigetsu shook his head before walking away, trying to decide what to do about what he saw.</p>
<p>"What was that about?" Juugo asked as he followed Suigetsu.</p>
<p>"As I said to Naruto, if he wants you to know then he'll tell you," Suigetsu shrugged. Juugo just nodded, knowing not to pry.</p>
<p>"Should we tell Sasuke about what just happened?" Juugo asked, knowing that the raven wouldn't like it if someone were invading his privacy.</p>
<p>Suigetsu sighed. It was a question he’d been asking himself, but was thinking it would be better if Sasuke didn’t know. There was no reason to cause a fight when they wouldn’t learn anything by a simple search on the Internet. "No, they're harmless. Naruto's just curious, he won't find anything," Suigetsu assured him as they continued walking towards their dorm.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Juugo found himself at Sasuke's dorm, knowing if he didn't tell him about what he had seen then he'd feel guilty. He knocked on the door, waiting for Sasuke to answer. It was only a short period of time before Sasuke opened the door. "Juugo what are you doing here?" he asked, confused since he hadn't invited him over. Juugo wasn’t just one to stop by like Suigetsu might.</p>
<p>"I need to tell you something," Juugo said, thinking that a good friend would tell him what he saw. Sasuke moved aside, letting him in the room.</p>
<p>Sasuke watched as his friend looked around the room, making sure they were alone. "What's up?" he asked, confused by Juugo’s behavior.</p>
<p>"Naruto was doing research on you and Orochimaru," Juugo blurted out. Sasuke seemed shocked at first, but after a moment he realized he shouldn't be. The blonde seemed to want to know about him so it would make sense that he would research him. What didn’t make sense was how Orochimaru got pulled into the search and it raised a lot of questions.</p>
<p>"When did you see this?" Sasuke asked angrily. He was mad that Naruto would go to such lengths to find out about him. If he wanted him to tell him about his life then he would. The fact that Orochimaru was included in his search made wonder if Naruto had read his journal. He knew that based on Naruto’s behavior it was more likely that he searched him and that led down a rabbit hole of articles about Orochimaru.</p>
<p>"When Suigetsu and I were walking through campus earlier," he replied. Sasuke was shocked when he heard Suigetsu’s name, wondering why he wouldn’t have told him that Naruto was doing research on him.</p>
<p>"Why are you here?" Sasuke frowned, feeling slightly betrayed by Suigetsu. He was confused as to why the other teen wouldn’t have told him. Even if he didn’t want to put it into a text, he knew Suigetsu wasn’t in class and could have came and told him in person.</p>
<p>"I already told you," Juugo said, confused by his friend's question.</p>
<p>"No, I mean why are you here and Suigetsu’s not," Sasuke asked angrily. Juugo remained silent, realizing his error in saying that Suigetsu was there with him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Tension</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>You may have noticed I upped the chapter count on this again. I added another new chapter which will be the next chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Suigetsu waited for Sasuke outside of the dorms where the other teen had text him to meet. He was unsure why it was so urgent that they meet up, but it had him worried. He wondered if Orochimaru did something else or if something had shook him up. When Sasuke walked up he noticed that he was visibly upset. "Are you okay Sasuke?" Suigetsu asked, worried about his best friend.</p>
<p>"No," Sasuke pause and took a deep breath. "No I'm not, okay."</p>
<p>"What happened?" Suigetsu asked, wondering what could have set him off so badly. He could tell how angry he was just by his body language.</p>
<p>Sasuke looked around to make sure no one was listening to them and was satisfied when he saw no one was around. "You," Sasuke answered, making Suigetsu's eyes widen. "Because you are supposed to be my best friend and yet you don't tell me when some moron is researching me and Orochimaru." Suigetsu looked down, knowing Juugo told.</p>
<p>"You know he's not a threat, he's just curious," Suigetsu tried to defend his actions. Sasuke just looked at him, still angry. Suigetsu knew better than to betray his trust, he knew he should have told him. He wasn’t sure why he didn’t tell him or why he was making excuses for his actions when he should just apologize.</p>
<p>"That doesn't matter, you still should have told me," Sasuke argued. "In fact, in high school you would have. So I'm just wondering why you didn't now," Sasuke's face grew cold.</p>
<p>"I told you, I knew he wasn't a threat," Suigetsu said, knowing what Sasuke was implying.</p>
<p>"You let your feelings for Kiba get in the way," Sasuke said, annoyed with his friends actions. "You let your feelings for some guy who may never like you back get in the way of being my best friend." It may have been harsh, but it was true. As far as they knew Kiba was straight and liked Hinata, Suigetsu didn’t have a chance.</p>
<p>"You and I both know you're over reacting, there is nothing for him to find on the Internet about your situation," Suigetsu pointed out. He didn't like that Sasuke used his feelings against him, though he felt that it might be a little true. "It won't happen again, I promise."</p>
<p>Sasuke was silent for a moment, he knew that Suigetsu didn't really do anything wrong. It was true that no matter how hard the blonde looked; he'd never find his secret online. "It better not," Sasuke warned. Suigetsu nodded, he was just happy to know that Sasuke wasn't going to stay mad at him.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Sasuke had kept his emotions bottled up inside for a few days. He was looking for the right way to confront Naruto. After debating in his head, he decided to just be straight forward and to the point. He walked into their room and found the blonde sitting on his bed. "Hey Sasuke," Naruto smiled, thinking he'd gotten away with researching Sasuke.</p>
<p>"You researched me," Sasuke said as he looked at the blonde. Naruto's eyes widened, he cursed Juugo and Suigetsu for telling. He knew it had to be one of them since Kiba wouldn’t have said anything. "You invaded my privacy again."</p>
<p>"I wouldn't call it invading your privacy, I mean it was online for all the world to see," Naruto tried to reason. Sasuke didn't look amused with Naruto's statement. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to know who the guy staring at us the other day was," Naruto admitted. “Your reaction to him was concerning to say the least.”</p>
<p>"Listen to me carefully, just because I tolerate you, doesn't give you the right to research me," Sasuke said. Naruto could tell Sasuke was seriously pissed off, but Naruto was getting mad too. He felt he'd done nothing wrong, it wasn't as if he'd found anything out even.</p>
<p>"Give me the right? I can look up whatever I want on the Internet, once it's on there anyone can look it up," Naruto argued. He knew he probably shouldn't have said that, seeing as Sasuke was already mad at him.</p>
<p>"Stop trying to know more about me. I don't want to get to know you, I don't want to be your friend, I hardly tolerate you," Sasuke said, trying not to yell. He didn’t need the entire floor hearing them fight.</p>
<p>"Really you more than tolerated me when you were drunk," Naruto said, knowing he shouldn't but it just slipped out. He knew that it was not the right time to bring it up. He was just digging himself into a deeper hole.</p>
<p>"Hate to burst your bubble, but it could have been any blonde, you're nothing special," Sasuke practically hissed. Naruto had wished he wouldn't have brought up that night because it brought the fight to a whole new topic. Sasuke was about to walk away, but Naruto pulled him back. Sasuke winced a little at the contact and hoped Naruto didn’t see his reaction or that if he did he just wrote it off as him being angry.</p>
<p>"We aren't finished talking, you can't just walk away every time you don't want to talk about something," Naruto argued. Sasuke just glared at him pulling his arm free forcefully, trying to hide the pain from the bruises. Naruto stood in front of him, not letting him walk away. Sasuke saw no way to escape, causing his defense mode to kick in. Sasuke shoved him out of the way, surprising Naruto. "What the hell?" Naruto yelled.</p>
<p>His mind flashed back to Orochimaru and he felt like a caged animal. "Just leave me alone," Sasuke demanded making Naruto wonder if it was going to turn into another one of their fistfights like it did in high school. </p>
<p>"Sasuke," Naruto started, trying to reason with him as he grabbed his arm once again as the raven tried to walk away. This time, however, the dark haired teen punched him. Naruto didn't want to settle it with violence, but it seemed as if that was what Sasuke was resorting too so he retaliated. Soon it was an all out fight.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Kiba and Suigetsu were sitting in Kiba's room trying to figure out what to do. "We could go see what Naruto and Sasuke are up to," Kiba suggested. "Then maybe we could text Neji and see what he's up to, he has a gaming system in his room."</p>
<p>"Yeah we could do that," Suigetsu agreed hesitantly. Suigetsu had been avoiding Sasuke since they had talked, wanting to give him some time to cool down. "But we should probably text Neji first," he pointed out. Kiba nodded as he started to text him.</p>
<p>"He said we could come play and made a comment about us using him for video games," Kiba laughed. He quickly text him back,<em>'How did you know? LOL.'</em>Kiba just smirked as he sent the text knowing that it would likely annoy Neji.</p>
<p>"You teased him didn't you?" Suigetsu asked. Kiba just smirked, which answered his question. Suigetsu just shook his head, "Come on let's go get Naruto and Sasuke. I'm sure they're in their room, I know Sasuke is." Kiba just followed him out of the room.</p>
<p>Once they arrived at Naruto and Sasuke's room, Kiba asked, "Think the door's unlocked?" Suigetsu shrugged, figuring it probably was. They tended not to lock the door if one of them was in the room so they could tell people to just walk in if there was a knock.</p>
<p>"There's only one way to find out," he answered, turning the knob and opening the door. Both boys' eyes widened at the scene in front of their eyes. Naruto had Sasuke pinned to the floor, in a position that didn't look too friendly. Their faces were a little too close and Naruto looked as if he were dominating Sasuke. Once Suigetsu got over his initial shock he said, "I know I told you to get along with him, but I didn't mean this well."</p>
<p>Naruto and Sasuke looked at their friends and immediately blushed at what Suigetsu insinuated. Naruto quickly got off of Sasuke, saying, "It's really not what it looks like."</p>
<p>"Then what is it?" Kiba asked, waiting for the explanation. He found the whole situation amusing.</p>
<p>"We were fighting, Sasuke was obviously losing," Naruto said proudly, making Sasuke glare. Naruto just huffed, annoyed with the way Sasuke was acting. He didn't even know why he wanted to be his friend so badly.</p>
<p>"Why were you fighting?" Suigetsu asked cautiously, looking at Sasuke, feeling he knew the answer. Suigetsu couldn't believe Sasuke let Naruto researching him turn into an actual fistfight. It hadn’t been that long since the incident with Orochimaru and he knew the man was probably in no shape to be fighting.</p>
<p>"It's his fault, I was just trying to talk to him but the jerk punched me. He was all mad because I fucking looked him up on the Internet and he just went off on me," Naruto explained further.</p>
<p>Sasuke just walked out of the room, not wanting to hear what Naruto had to say. Suigetsu apologized to Kiba, "Sorry I don't think we're going to Neji's anymore." He hurried out of the room to find Sasuke, which wasn't hard considering he didn't go that far. "What just happened back there?" Suigetsu asked.</p>
<p>Sasuke looked around to see if anyone was within earshot. "I didn't want it to turn into a fistfight," he said quietly as he looked down. Suigetsu remained silent as he waited for him to continue. "I felt trapped, he had me cornered. It just felt so much like what Orochimaru would do," Sasuke admitted.</p>
<p>Suigetsu frowned; he hated seeing Sasuke so vulnerable. "Naruto's not like Orochimaru, he's not going to hurt you because he takes pleasure in it. There aren't a lot of people in this world like him," Suigetsu tried to comfort him.</p>
<p>"But there are people out there," Sasuke practically whispered. Suigetsu could only remain silent; he didn't know how to respond to him. It wasn't as if he could deny what Sasuke said.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Let me know what you think. </p>
<p>No serious trigger warnings for the added chapter I feel it's necessary after all the drama in recent chapters. Hopefully everyone will like it.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Not a Date</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is another added chapter. I wanted to add some fluff and attempt at humor after the angst of the last few chapters. It was fun to write so hopefully it's good.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I'm sorry," Naruto said as he and Sasuke sat in their room. They hadn't talked for a week. Naruto had tried, but Sasuke either ignored him completely or gave some excuse to leave so he didn’t have to talk to the other teen.</p>
<p>Sasuke just remained silent, not wanting to talk about why he reacted the way he did. It wasn’t as if he were going to tell his problems to Naruto. He couldn’t explain his reasons so he just read his History book instead.</p>
<p>"Seriously Sasuke, I'm sorry about the research, about trying to make you talk, and about the fighting," Naruto said, just wanting them to start talking again. The blonde hated the tension between them.</p>
<p>Sasuke looked at him, putting down is book. The raven sighed and mumbled, "The fight wasn't really your fault." He knew it partially was, but it was more so his fault because he didn't tell Naruto about Orochimaru. He knew if Naruto knew about what happened to him, he wouldn't have gotten in his face. He had been talking to Suigetsu, whom had convinced him that it wasn't only Naruto's fault. Naruto may have gone about it the wrong way, but he hadn’t necessarily done anything wrong. He wasn’t intentionally hurting Sasuke, he just wanted to know what was going on.</p>
<p>"Wait, what?" Naruto asked, taken by surprise. He never expected Sasuke to take the blame for anything that had happened that day. Naruto had apologized because he wanted to get back to how things were, not because he thought that he was the cause of the whole problem.</p>
<p>"I said, it wasn't all your fault," Sasuke said, looking at him with a glare. Naruto knew not to ask him to repeat himself again because Sasuke wouldn’t admit his fault again.</p>
<p>It wasn't often Sasuke took blame for things in their fights, so Naruto was happy to see him actually do so for once. "You're warming up to me, aren't you?" Naruto grinned as he moved closer to the raven. He couldn't help it, he knew Sasuke in high school Sasuke never would have taken blame; therefore, it was the only possible explanation.</p>
<p>"Shut up moron, I am not," Sasuke said pushing him away as he looked anywhere but the blonde. He hated that Naruto made it impossible for him to stay mad at him. He hated that Naruto had somehow become a friend, no matter how much he didn’t want to admit it. He refused to acknowledge it to himself so he would never admit it out loud.</p>
<p>"Just admit it, you are. Otherwise, you'd do what you did in high school and just glare at me and act as if you wished I didn't exist," Naruto said with a smile. Sasuke rolled his eyes but didn't deny it. "See I knew we were friends," the blonde said as he put his arm around Sasuke.</p>
<p>Sasuke immediately pushed the arm off, "If you ever pull something like this again I won’t be so forgiving,” he warned the blonde. “And I never said you were my friend. I just said you were tolerable, remember?" There was no real bite behind his words, it seemed as if he were more reminding himself that they weren’t friends.</p>
<p>"Okay, you can call it whatever you want but we’re friends," Naruto laughed. Naruto grinned as he pulled Sasuke into a hug, “You won’t regret it.”</p>
<p>Sasuke winced as Naruto touched a bruise and quickly pushed him away, hoping the blonde didn’t notice his reaction. He had though that after a week they would be gone and would no longer hurt, but he had no such luck. They were faded, but not completely gone. Maybe the pain was in his mind because he knew the bruise was still there. “No, we’re not and even if we were that doesn’t mean I want a hug.” He fought the blush that was threatening to appear because of Naruto’s closeness. He told himself that he wasn’t used to being touched in that manner and that it had been so long that he would have felt that way if anyone had touched him.</p>
<p>“Right, sorry,” Naruto stepped back. “You know, we’ve never hung out just you and me and before you say it, tutoring doesn’t count.”</p>
<p>“Why would we? We aren’t friends,” Sasuke reminded him. He didn’t like the direction the conversation was heading. There were many reasons he could think of as to why it’d be a bad idea for them to hang out, many of which he didn’t want to admit.</p>
<p>“Shut up, you know as well as I do that we’re friends. Just accept it,” Naruto rolled his eyes at Sasuke’s continued insistence that they weren’t friends.</p>
<p>“I’ve told you, I only tolerate you,” Sasuke sighed. He tried to brush it off as if they were nothing.</p>
<p>“Just admit it, we’re friends,” Naruto smiled. “And as friends we should hang out. It’s just like how I hang out with Kiba and you hang out with Suigetsu.” Naruto knew it wouldn’t feel the same for some reason, but it sounded like a solid argument. “Come on, one night won’t kill you.”</p>
<p>“I just don’t think it’s a good idea,” Sasuke thought of the other times their friends had abandoned them at parties and being alone didn’t seem like a good idea. In his mind it would result in one of two ways: either they would end up fighting or they’d get drunk and end up kissing. He refused to get drunk with him alone so that was out of the question. If he were honest, there was one other result. There was an undeniable physical attraction to each other, no matter how much he didn’t want to admit it. As a result, it could feel like a date. Logically, he knew it wasn’t a date nor did he want it to be a date. “I just don’t see why we can’t invite Kiba and Suigetsu,” he suggested.</p>
<p>“Because then you’ll spend the entire night silently listening to our conversation while you pretend you aren’t or the only person you’ll talk to is Suigetsu.” He couldn’t explain why he really didn’t want the other two teens to join them.</p>
<p>Sasuke weighed his options, knowing that Naruto was unlikely to back down. He sighed, “Fine, what do you have in mind?” He was hoping that Naruto wouldn’t be able to think of anything and he’d find a way out of going anywhere with him.</p>
<p>Naruto tried to hide his excitement but knew it was extremely obvious. “Well, first I was thinking we could grab dinner, I’m starving. There is a great ramen place down the street, I’m sure they’ll have something that you’ll like.</p>
<p>The more Naruto talked the more Sasuke thought it sounded like a date. He knew it wasn’t, but that’s all he could think about as Naruto continued to talk. Part of him wanted to clarify with Naruto that it certainly wasn’t a date but refrained from doing so knowing that the blonde didn’t mean it that way and saying it would make things awkward. “Fine,” he agreed, not sure why he gave in so easily.</p>
<p>“Great,” Naruto looked at the time on his phone and decided it was close enough to dinnertime. “Let’s go now, as I said, I’m starving.” Naruto practically skipped out of the room. He wouldn’t allow himself to think about the reason he was so happy that Sasuke agreed. “I know you’re not a huge fan of ramen but this place will change your mind.”</p>
<p>“Doubtful,” Sasuke followed him, locking their door behind them. He wasn’t sure what else to say so he waited for Naruto to strike up conversation.</p>
<p>They walked in awkward silence before Naruto finally asked, “So, what’s your favorite food. Obviously you know mine is ramen.” He figured food was an easy and safe enough topic. Sure it may be a little generic, but he figured that was probably where he had to start when it came to Sasuke, gradually working up to things that were more personal.</p>
<p>Sasuke thought about it for a moment before he realized he didn’t really have a favorite food. There were things he liked to eat, but nothing that he needed to eat like Naruto was with ramen. “I don’t really have one,” he shrugged. He had never thought about having a favorite food, always eating as fast as he could so he could get away from Orochimaru. In the morning he’d quickly eat and run to school and at night he’d run to his room in the hopes of avoiding another beating. It was never about enjoying food for him, it was merely a necessity to survive.</p>
<p>“You have to have a favorite food. Who doesn’t have a favorite food?” Naruto asked in disbelief as if the idea of not having a favorite food was unheard of.</p>
<p>“Not everyone is obsessed with food like you. Just drop it,” Sasuke glared. Their night was not getting off to a good start. He could tell Naruto wanted to ask questions about his reaction and was relived when he moved on.</p>
<p>“Fine, no favorite food. How about favorite movie?” he asked, thinking everyone had a favorite movie.</p>
<p>Sasuke remained silent. Naruto had seemed so confident that he’d have a favorite movie, but they were never something he cared about. He never felt like sitting down and watching a movie, he’d rather sit down and read the book a movie was based on rather than watching the movie. He wouldn’t admit to also reading the comics all the superhero movies were based on, which also ruined those since they were never as good. “Movies aren’t really my thing.”</p>
<p>“That’s code for you haven’t seen the right movies,” Naruto shook his head, trying to find something to talk about. “Okay, what do you like to do for fun?” Naruto figured that it was a broad enough question that had to lead to something for them to be able to talk about.</p>
<p>“I like to read,” Sasuke said despite knowing that it wouldn’t lead to a conversation. Naruto had never been much of a reader.</p>
<p>“I’m getting you out more often. I’ll force you to do fun things like see movies if I have to,” Naruto told him confidently. If the semester had thought him it anything, it was that he could get Sasuke out of his comfort zone. He wasn’t going to allow Sasuke to just sit around and read or only hang out with Suigetsu. “That’s what we’ll do after this, we’ll get your movie lessons started. We can stream something form my laptop. I’ll think of something you’ll like.”</p>
<p>Sasuke’s mind couldn’t help but once again think about how everything they did that night felt more like a date than two friends hanging out. Perhaps it was because he never had any friends that tried to push him out of his usual routine the way Naruto did. It was probably normal for friends to go to dinner and watch movies, but it wasn’t normal for him. He thought about arguing but gave in instead. He ignored the fact that streaming a movie would mean sitting close and watching it on Naruto’s laptop. He reasoned that they’d have a wider range to choose from through streaming than they would by actually going to the theater.</p>
<p>When they arrived at the small restaurant it was clear that Naruto was a frequent customer. The waiter greeted him by name, causing Sasuke to feel an odd sense of jealousy. He brushed it off as he just thought the waiter was annoying due to his over friendliness and talkative personality.</p>
<p>“Is there a reason that you’re glaring at our waiter?” Naruto asked, confused by Sasuke’s attitude towards the nice man.</p>
<p>“I wasn’t glaring,” Sasuke lied. He knew that he had been glaring, but he didn’t have a good reason why.</p>
<p>“Yeah you were, I think you might have scared him a little,” Naruto looked over at their waiter who seemed to be avoiding eye contact. He was fairly certain that he was asking his coworker to take care of them so he didn’t have to deal with Sasuke.</p>
<p>“So, what you going to school for,” Sasuke changed the subject, hoping that Naruto would take the hint and drop the issue. He and Naruto had never had much of a real conversation so he had never asked what the blonde was majoring in. All he knew was that they had the same math class.</p>
<p>Naruto debated whether or not to let Sasuke change the subject. He was curious about his behavior, but his curiosity always seemed to get him in trouble when it came to the other teen. Rather than starting a fight, he answered the question, “Teaching.”</p>
<p>“But you hate school,” Sasuke was surprised by Naruto’s answer. The blonde had never been much of an academic so it didn’t make sense to him why he’d want to go into teaching.</p>
<p>“I don’t hate school,” Naruto told him. “I hated high school sometimes, I’d never want to teach at that level they’re all assholes. I want to teach the younger kids. I didn’t really have a parental figure growing up but I had some great teachers that helped me. I guess I want to be that person for a kid one day,” he shrugged though Sasuke could tell it meant more to him than he was showing. “If I do extra courses I can even be a guidance counselor and try to help kids that are in a shitty situation.”</p>
<p>“You better start reading more then,” Sasuke teased. He understood what it was like to not have his parents growing up, but he never had a teacher he could say helped him. Though that was probably because he always tried to hide the fact that he needed any emotional support from anyone. He had his brother and Suigetsu, but that wasn’t the same as a parental figure.</p>
<p>“Well, I’m sure you have some books you could recommend,” Naruto grinned, happy that the mood had lightened. “I could give you movie lessons and you can give me book suggestions. Really I think you’re getting the better end of the deal here.”</p>
<p>“I suppose that depends on what kind of movies you like,” his tone was skeptical. He had a feeling that Naruto liked what he called ‘dumb humor,’ which was the exact opposite of what Sasuke would want to watch.</p>
<p>“Well, with that attitude I should make you watch some sappy romantic comedy or teenage drama,” Naruto laughed. He wouldn’t know the first thing about what romantic comedies to recommend, but it was fun to tease the other teen. “But that’d be just be punishing myself. Don’t worry; you’ll like my movie choices.”</p>
<p>Sasuke thought about commenting on the fact that he never said he’d watch the movies with the bone, but instead said, “I don’t know, the serve here seems to suck and you said I’d like this place.”</p>
<p>“Well, it’s usually not this bad when you don’t terrify the waiter,” Naruto told him. “He usually has great customer service, but I think he’s trying to bribe someone else to wait on us.”</p>
<p>“I didn’t terrify him,” Sasuke mumbled as he looked around the restaurant, not wanting to make eye contact with the blonde.</p>
<p>“Sure you didn’t,” Naruto replied sarcastically. Naruto gave Sasuke a knowing smirk when they ended up having a different waiter helping them. Their previous waiter was still on shift; he just wasn’t serving their table. He didn’t push the topic further, but it made him smile.</p>
<p>Sasuke never thought it’d be easy to make conversation with Naruto, but it was. It scared him how easy it was to talk to the blonde despite their differences. Sasuke refused to admit that the restaurant was actually pretty good. “It was okay,” Sasuke told Naruto when they were walking back to campus. “Not the worst I’ve had.”</p>
<p>“I’m going to take that as a glowing review,” Naruto grinned. He knew that if Sasuke hated it then he wouldn’t have hesitated to tell him it’s horrible. “You just don’t like to admit when you like things.” They both knew that Naruto wasn’t just talking about the food.</p>
<p>Sasuke looked away, “Hn.” Their walk back to the dorm was relatively quiet, but it was no longer an awkward silence.</p>
<p>They both decided to get comfortable and change into pajamas before watching the movie. Naruto was hyperaware of Sasuke sitting next to him on his bed. Naruto had chosen the first Iron Man movie, saying they had to watch them in the order they were released, no matter how bad the movie may be, so they could have the full experience. “Some of them aren’t that great, but you need to watch all of them in order to get the full experience,” he told him.</p>
<p>Sasuke just shook his head, assuming they wouldn’t be nearly as good as the comics. “Whatever you say,” he sighed and got comfortable. </p>
<p>They tried to keep some distance between them, but it was difficult when they were watching a movie on a computer screen. Naruto was trying to not be obvious when he glanced at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye, telling himself that he was just trying to gage the other teen’s reaction to his choice.</p>
<p>
  <b>NS</b>
</p>
<p>“It was a date,” Suigetsu laughed. “You went on a date with Naruto.” They sat in Sasuke’s room while the blonde was in class. Sasuke wasn’t going to chance anyone overhearing the conversation.</p>
<p>“It was not a date,” Sasuke argued. “We hung out as friends, that’s it,” he couldn’t help but think he sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince Suigetsu. “I don’t like him that way,” he added.</p>
<p>“Sure you don’t,” the other teen laughed. “Keep telling yourself that, maybe it’ll eventually be true,” he smirked. “So, friends? I thought you weren’t friends,” he continued to tease his best friend.</p>
<p>Sasuke huffed, annoyed with his slip up, “No, we aren’t friends. I only tolerate him.” He paced the room as he thought about the night before. If he were honest, it felt like a date, but he didn’t like Naruto that way. The blonde was attractive, but that didn’t mean he wanted to date him.</p>
<p>“Whatever you say,” Suigetsu text Kiba about what had happened the night before, knowing he’d have fun with teasing Naruto about it. “It was a date.”</p>
<p>“Fuck you,” Sasuke glared as he crossed his arms. “It wasn’t a date,” he huffed as he sat down on his bed with his head in his hands. “Really, it wasn’t.”</p>
<p>
  <b>NS</b>
</p>
<p>Naruto was bombarded by a series of texts while in class. He saw Kiba’s name pop up multiple times, wondering what could be so important. He checked his phone as he left class, his eyes widening as he looked at the screen.</p>
<p>
  <b>Kiba</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘Why didn’t you tell me you went on a date with Sasuke?!?!?’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘I had to hear about this from Suigetsu’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘I want details how the fuck did this happen’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘I know you want to fuck him but I didn’t think you’d admit you want to date him’ </em>
</p>
<p>Naruto sighed as he read the texts. While it had felt like a date, it wasn’t a date. It was just two friends hanging out. They went to dinner and watched a movie. There was no kissing, no flirting, and certainly no fucking involved.</p>
<p>
  <b>Naruto</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘It wasn’t a date’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Kiba</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘Bullshit I heard what happened</em>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Naruto</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘Nothing happened we just went to dinner and watched a movie’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘You’re acting like we fucked’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Kiba</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘Did you?’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Naruto</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘NO!’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘It wasn’t a date’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Kiba</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘You and Sasuke are delusional if you think it wasn’t a date’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <b>Naruto</b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘It wasn’t a date’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>‘I’m done talking about this’</em>
</p>
<p>Naruto put his phone in his pocket. He could feel it vibrate and knew that Kiba was probably teasing him endlessly, but refused to acknowledge any of his messages. He sighed as he walked towards his next class as he told himself it was not a date.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I realized while editing I didn't have much about Naruto's background so I wanted to make sure to add some of that in this chapter</p>
<p>Let me know what you think :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Job</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry this took so long to update. I had a few personal stuff get in the way of me writing so I didn't get a chance to update.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sasuke gave a frustrated sigh as he scrolled through one of the multiple job search apps on his phone. He was looking for something that would allow him a flexible enough schedule with not too many hours, but would still give him enough spending money for the non-school related things without having to tap into his inheritance. He was lucky and didn’t need to worry about things such as tuition or knowing what he’d be doing with his life after graduation. He wanted to enjoy being a young adult before taking on the reasonability of working at his family’s company. Unlike most people, he wouldn’t need any kind of business related experience to find a job after finishing his degree.</p>
<p>His “unfair advantage” was one of the reasons people thought he had a perfect life. Sasuke understood why people thought that his life was easy. From an outsider’s perspective it seemed his life was perfect and carefree. It is easy to judge someone from appearances alone, not truly knowing what they are going through behind closed doors, when they put on a façade that everything is fine.</p>
<p>Naruto looked over at him from his bed, wondering what could be so frustrating about scrolling through his phone. "What are you doing?" Naruto asked. He didn’t seem to be texting and the other teen was rarely on social media. In fact, Naruto was pretty sure that he only had any kind of social media because Suigetsu made it for him. He’d seen the apps on his phone but the other teen never posted anything and he didn’t think Sasuke was the kind of guy to use social media to find funny memes. While Sasuke didn’t like to lose, he also didn’t think that he would get that annoyed with losing some mobile game so he was curious as to what would make him frustrated while scrolling through his phone.</p>
<p>"Nothing," Sasuke answered as he switched positions so he was lying on his stomach, using his arm for support with his phone on the bed in front of him.</p>
<p>Naruto rolled his eyes before getting up and making his way over to see what the other was looking at. "Why are you looking for a job?” Naruto asked as he read over Sasuke's shoulder. He was confused since he figured the other teen didn’t need money given the fact that he was an Uchiha and born with a silver spoon in his mouth.</p>
<p>Naruto’s face was a little too close for the dark haired teen's liking. Sasuke took a deep breath, but it didn't help as it just made it so he could smell the cologne that Naruto wore. It wasn't a strong scent, but it was almost intoxicating and Sasuke knew he had to get him away. "Will you stop reading over my shoulder?" Sasuke said, harsher than normal. He wouldn’t admit that he was having a little bit of an internal crisis ever since they had hung out alone, which was definitely not a date.</p>
<p>Naruto just rolled his eyes again, wondering why the raven was in such a bad mood. He thought he saw a hint of a blush, but thought he was probably just seeing things so he brushed it off as nothing. "I was just wondering what you were doing," Naruto said. "But somebody wouldn't tell me, so I thought I'd take a look for myself," he added.</p>
<p>"Yeah you're good at that," Sasuke muttered. Naruto ignored the comment, not wanting to get into another fight with Sasuke. "Yes, I'm looking for a job," Sasuke finally answered with a sigh.</p>
<p>"I need one too! Is there anything good? Maybe we could work together," Naruto said excitedly as he sat down next to Sasuke. The pale teen shut his eyes, trying to will away the headache that came with the blonde's questions. He wasn't sure if he could handle working and rooming with Naruto.</p>
<p>"I really don't think that'd be a good idea," Sasuke said, trying to discourage the blonde from even trying to get the same job as him.</p>
<p>Naruto wasn't listening as he opened the app on his own phone and began looking for jobs for the two of them. "Look this one says that it has multiple positions available," he said happily. Sasuke just sighed, he was already starting to feel confused about his feelings for the blonde, he didn't need to have him any his life anymore than necessary. "It'll be fun and it's at a coffee shop," Naruto added with a smile.</p>
<p>"Yeah, sure," Sasuke said. He didn't know why he said it, because he certainly didn't want to. The words just slipped from his mouth before his mind had time to think about what he was saying.</p>
<p>Naruto hugged him, "This will be so much fun." He released him with a grin, "See, I told you that you were warming up to me." Sasuke sighed, wondering what he'd just gotten himself into. "It says there's an application we need to fill out, find it on your phone and start filling it out," Naruto said as he clicked to apply online. Sasuke could only nod and hope that only one of them got the job there, unfortunately, something told him that he probably wouldn't be so lucky.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Within a week they had filled out their applications, had the interviews, and were just waiting to hear back from the owner. It was a new coffee shop and therefore the owner was looking to hire an entire staff and it had been obvious to Sasuke that the owner was desperate and looking to hire fast. Sasuke figured it was probably difficult to find people that were willing to work part time with minimal pay, but that suited what Sasuke needed since it was only spending money, not a job he needed to live off of.</p>
<p>It surprised him that Naruto was looking for something minimal, knowing he hadn’t come from the same wealthy background. Unlike the blonde, Sasuke didn’t ant to intrude on the other teen’s personal life so he never asked. Despite him not asking, Naruto had explained that he’d used his job in high school to save up for college and would be saving some of what he made at this job to pay for the following semesters and the rest would just be spending money. It wasn’t as if they picked an expensive college to attend. It wasn’t some prestigious or Ivy League school so it wasn’t unreasonably priced compared to some other Universities. Naruto had gotten a job in high school once he was legally old enough to work, but Sasuke was surprised that the blonde actually saved the money to use for college.  </p>
<p>Naruto had said he was charming in his interview. While Sasuke never thought of the blonde as particularly charming, he knew that other people did and probably it meant that he got the job. Naruto was perfect for customer service, having a personality that could be overwhelming in large doses but often came off as charming in short interactions. At least that was how Sasuke would describe him to other people, along with the words “annoying” and “idiot,” not admitting that the blonde’s company wasn’t as bad as he tried to claim.</p>
<p>Sasuke was reserved and probably not the best person for customer service. However, it was well known that his good looks tended to attract a female crowd, which would probably make them come just to flirt with him and would buy drinks or food in the process. In other words, having a good looking man behind the counter would most likely be good for business.</p>
<p>All of their guy friends were gathered in Neji's room to play video games once again, with the exception of Juugo even though they had invited him. Juugo felt it would be awkward when he only knew Suigetsu and Sasuke, who would be caught up with Kiba and Naruto. The two denied that they would ignore him for the two boys, but deep down they knew it was probably true. Despite Sasuke’s alleged dislike for the blonde, he had a tendency of gravitating towards him, though he blamed it on the fact that he was always with Suigetsu, and Suigetsu would always hang out with Kiba, who was always with Naruto, causing Sasuke and Naruto to always be together.  </p>
<p>"So let me get this straight, you two may work together?" Kiba laughed as he looked at Naruto and Sasuke. He couldn't believe Sasuke had actually agreed to let Naruto apply at the same place he had applied. Kiba was starting to believe the raven really did have a soft spot for the blonde, especially after the night they both adamantly claimed was not a date when the other wasn’t around. It was an unspoken rule that the idea of it being a date was never mentioned when they were in the same room and most of their friends weren’t even aware that it happened.</p>
<p>"Shut up," Sasuke mumbled as he played the video game. His annoyance with the other teen was fueling his desire to win, hoping that it would make him shut up for once.</p>
<p>Kiba was surprised that it was actually difficult to play against Sasuke, as he had never seen Sasuke play and assumed he didn’t like video games. Sasuke tended to watch and make snide remarks rather than play when he was in the room when they were playing video games. The two of them were battling and Sasuke was clearly winning, so Kiba was trying to use Naruto distract him in the hopes of gaining the upper hand.</p>
<p>"It's going to be fun," Naruto said with a smile. Everyone except Naruto could see that Sasuke didn't share his happiness. "Right Sasuke?" the blonde asked.</p>
<p>"Oh yeah, loads of fun," Sasuke said sarcastically as he defeated Kiba with a smirk.</p>
<p>The brunette just glared at him, annoyed by the fact the conversation actually seemed to make him play better. It was as if he was using the game to take out his aggravation. "I'm not playing Sasuke anymore," Kiba pouted as he put the controller down. "I'd rather hear about you two working together anyway."</p>
<p>"Can't we just drop this conversation already?" Sasuke huffed, his annoyance magnified by everything the other teen was saying. He knew that the brunette was only bringing it up to annoy him at this point. Kiba evilly smiled at him and Sasuke knew that the answer was no. Before anyone in the group had a chance to tease them more, Sasuke's phone went off.</p>
<p>"I'll be right back," he said as he walked out of the room to answer it. He sighed as he looked at it and saw an unknown number. Usually he'd send it to voicemail, but since he'd had an interview not too long ago he figured he should answer it. "Hello?" he said as he answered the phone.</p>
<p>"<em>May I speak to Sasuke Uchiha?"</em>the person on the other end asked.</p>
<p>"This is him," he answered, hating not knowing who was on the other end of the call. He figured since it was a woman that it was the owner of the coffee shop. From what he recalled the woman had “owned” the coffee shop. In reality it was obvious she had no idea what she was doing and, given how young she was, her father probably bought it for her and was the actual owner.</p>
<p>"<em>Hi, I'm calling about your interview at Aimi's Coffee,"</em>the woman on the other end said. It confirmed his suspicion that it was the owner of the coffee shop, Aimi. She only gave her first name, saying she wanted a relaxed environment.<em>"I just wanted you to know that if you wanted the job still, I'd like to hire you,"</em>she said in a cheery voice.</p>
<p>"Yes, I would still like the job, thank you," he said in a calm tone.</p>
<p>"<em>Great can you start Monday at 12?"</em>she asked.</p>
<p>"Of course," he answered politely. He was just happy to get a job so he no longer had to spend any of his inheritance to do the things he wanted. He thought about using the money from the job to try to get an apartment after the spring semester, but now that he was technically an adult, he knew that he’d be able to live with Itachi over the summer break, which he would be doing now if it weren’t so far from campus. A long drive would be fine when he didn’t have to study over the summer, but the commute time would cut into his study time too much for him to make it work during the semester.</p>
<p>"<em>Great see you then,"</em>she said happily before hanging up. He hung up his phone and slid it back into his pocket. He took a deep breath and sighed before walking into the room again.</p>
<p>"Shhh, Naruto's on the phone. We're pretty sure it's with the woman from the coffee shop," Kiba said. Sasuke's good mood turned to one of annoyance, realizing she must have immediately called the blonde once she hung up with him. He could only hope that it was her telling him he didn't get the job. By the smile on Naruto's face, he knew that he was wrong. A few moments later, Naruto hung up the phone and cheered.</p>
<p>"Guess who has a job, I do," Naruto said with a smile. He looked at Sasuke, who was looking at him with a frown, clearly unhappy with his news. "What's got you so down?" Naruto asked, hoping that the call Sasuke had received wasn’t the woman telling him that he didn’t get the job.</p>
<p>"I got a job there too," Sasuke sighed as he sat down. He couldn't believe his luck, not only would he be stuck with Naruto in Math and in his dorm, but he'd also be stuck with him at work. All he could do was hope they didn’t work the same shifts. Given their school schedules being very similar, he had a feeling there would probably be some overlap.</p>
<p>"This is great, what's your first shift? I work Monday at 12," Naruto smiled. Sasuke sunk further into his seat. He was starting to believe that he was cursed.</p>
<p>"Me too," he mumbled.</p>
<p>Their friends laughed while Naruto smiled, not understanding what was so bad about them working together. "Cheer up, I promise this will be fun," the blonde grinned, ignoring the fact that he was probably a little too excited with the fact that they were working the same shift when it was most likely for training purposes.</p>
<p>"One thing is for sure, it'll be entertaining for the rest of us," Kiba laughed. Sasuke shot him a glare, which only caused him to laugh harder. He loved to tease the raven, especially when it came to things concerning his blonde best friend.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I tried to add some more of Naruto's past into this chapter. I realized that the original version didn't have much about him. It's a very Sasuke-centric story at times but I want to give at least some background on the other characters.</p>
<p>I also updated this chapter to reflect more of what is relevant now that wasn't as relevant when this story was written in 2010/2011. Let me know what you think.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Coffee Shop</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm so sorry with how long this took to update...I've had a lot going on. Hopefully it was worth the wait.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been a week and there had been relatively no drama between Naruto and Sasuke. The blonde was staring to think things were actually going to start to go good between them. They had gotten over being awkward about the recent events, though there was still some weird tension between them since they hung out it wasn’t enough to impede their progress. Naruto was also starting to think that there really was no way he could screw things up more than he already had over the course of their new found friendship. If Sasuke had forgiven him for everything he'd done, he'd probably forgive him for almost anything else the blonde may do in the future. Neither one of them wanted to analyze the reasons why Sasuke let the blonde get away with so much or the reasons why Naruto felt the need to push his way into Sasuke’s life.</p>
<p>"This is boring," Naruto said with sigh. He hated working nights, only a few people came in every now and then since coffee wasn’t needed as much at night. There were two types of people that came in that late at night: the ones that ordered the fluffy drinks that hardly had any coffee in them, but they tasted good and were covered in more whipped cream than necessary, and the ones that were pulling an all nighter, either because they worked the night shift or were students that procrastinated and had to finish a project. Due to their proximity to the school, it was usually the exhausted student.</p>
<p>"Yeah, it is," Sasuke finally answered after looking around the coffee shop. He sighed, knowing that it was only him and Naruto working, which meant that if he wanted someone to talk to then it would have to be the blonde. If he were honest, it wasn’t as if he’d be talking to anyone else that worked at the coffee shop even if they were working.</p>
<p>"Any chance you'd tutor me again?" Naruto asked out of the blue. He was hopeful that Sasuke had forgiven him to the point that he would help him. Sasuke just glared at him, answering his question. He didn’t understand why Sasuke refused to acknowledge that they were friends, despite the night the hung out together, but he didn’t want to push it so he accepted Sasuke’s decision. "Okay, I understand," Naruto nodded.</p>
<p>Sasuke looked down, feeling a little bad for how disappointed the blonde sounded. He didn't understand his feelings, as he had rejected people many times before with no remorse. Before either of them could say another word, the bell above the door chimed. Sasuke looked up and froze. He was at the cash register that day and knew he'd have to take his order.</p>
<p>Naruto recognized the man so he asked, "I know that's the man form the other day, do you want me to handle it?" Sasuke was surprised that Naruto recognized him, but he nodded and moved away from the register, desperate to limit his contact with the man that had just walked through the door. He didn't care if it made Naruto only wonder more about why he hated and feared Orochimaru, after what happened, he wasn't sure he was ready to face him again.</p>
<p>"Can I take your order?" Naruto said in a less than friendly tone. He knew the man did something to Sasuke, it made him not like him right from the start. He couldn't like a person who cause fear in someone he considered a friend.</p>
<p>"Is that anyway to greet a paying customer? You really should be more friendly, maybe smile," the man said with a smile that made a chill run down Naruto's spine. He had about feeling about the man in front of him.</p>
<p>Naruto wished that the feeling was only because of Sasuke's fear, but it wasn't, it was the look in the older man's eyes that old him something wasn't right. "I see nothing wrong with my attitude, do you Sasuke?" Naruto asked. Sasuke just shook his head no, unable to look in their direction let alone speak. He didn't trust his voice at the moment. "See, Sasuke agrees," Naruto faked a smile. "So what would you like to order?" he asked once more, wanting to get the man out of there as fast as possible and not willing to back down.</p>
<p>Orochimaru already did not like the man in front of him; he had far too strong of a will. "I'll only order from Sasuke," Orochimaru announced. Sasuke took a deep breath, hoping he could keep his cool talking to the man. Naruto looked at Sasuke's reaction, knowing he had to make an excuse for him.</p>
<p>"I'm working the register today, not him," Naruto said. It was a lie, but he didn't care so long as Sasuke didn't have to interact with the man.</p>
<p>"We all know that is a lie, I saw you switch when I came in," the man smirked. "I mean, it took me so long to find out when he was working, the least you can do is let him take my order," the man smirked. Naruto was starting to hate that smirk. "I am his guardian, it's good for us to keep in touch."</p>
<p>Naruto was about to protest, but Sasuke interrupted by saying, "Was my guardian, I’m an adult now, remember?” He shook his head, telling himself that it would be okay, “It's fine Naruto; I'll take his order." Naruto just looked at Sasuke with a frown, he didn't want to let Sasuke near the guy, but he knew it wasn't his place to say anything. "What can I get you?" Sasuke asked once he walked over to the register. He didn't look at the man, but instead at the cash register in front of him.</p>
<p>Orochimaru loved the affect he had on the boy's emotions. "I'll take a regular coffee, black," he said.</p>
<p>Sasuke couldn't help but think that the coffee fit him perfectly; it was black like his soul. He didn't say anything as he punched in the code for the coffee. He read of the price, trying not to show that he was letting the man get to him, but he knew it wasn't working.</p>
<p>Orochimaru gave him one last smirk as Sasuke handed him the change back. The older man made sure that their hands touched, just so that they'd have some sort of contact, even if it weren't the kind that he truly wanted. He walked over to get his coffee, grabbing it quickly because he didn't care to interact with the blonde again. Before he left, Orochimaru said, "I'll be seeing you Sasuke."</p>
<p>The raven hated those words they haunted him as his mind replayed the last time they were alone. He didn't know if they meant just in business class or if he planned to see him again outside of class. He leaned against the counter once the coffee shop was empty again and he ran his fingers through his hair, trying not to break down at the memory.</p>
<p>"Are you okay?" Naruto asked. He was worried about his friend's well being. He may not know what was going on, but it was obvious that it involved the creep who had been in the coffee shop. Sasuke remained silent, which Naruto took as a no. "So any chance you'll tell me what that was about?" the blonde asked, trying to press his luck. Sasuke just looked at him, making Naruto shut up. "Okay, I get it," he said.</p>
<p>The room went silent for a moment before a moment before Sasuke finally spoke out, "Hey Naruto?" The blonde turned to look at him, but didn't get his hopes up that Sasuke would tell him anything, he knew better than that. "Thanks," Sasuke said, as he looked down.</p>
<p>"For what?" Naruto asked, surprised by Sasuke’s words. He was unsure what he'd done to deserve a thank you from Sasuke, even if he was happy to receive one.</p>
<p>"For trying," he replied. "You don't even know what's going on, but you tried to handle talking to him for me," Sasuke explained.</p>
<p>Naruto smiled, he could tell he earned big Sasuke points just by doing one thing, which he figured any friend would do. "Of course, any friend would do that," Naruto shrugged, hoping Sasuke would agree that they were friends.</p>
<p>"But we aren't friends," Sasuke said, the small smile on his face saying otherwise. "I just tolerate you, remember?" Sasuke added.</p>
<p>Naruto rolled his eyes, “We’re friends. We hung out, that’s what friends do.”</p>
<p>“No, I only tolerate you,” Sasuke wasn’t sure how Naruto had managed to lift his mood, even if it was only just a little. “You’re letting one night confuse you,” he added. The room went silent once again, both of them thinking about their not a date, before brushing off Sasuke’s words.</p>
<p>The rest of the day Naruto could tell something was wrong. Sasuke was distant and only spoke when completely necessary. It used to be normal for them, but they had made some progress and Sasuke had finally been able to hold actual conversations with him. It only made Naruto wonder more about what happened between Sasuke and his former guardian.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>It was a day later and Kiba and Naruto were sitting in Kiba's room. The brunette could tell something was on Naruto's mind because he hadn't said a word since he'd got there. "If you aren't going to talk, then why are you here?" Kiba asked, knowing it was probably about Sasuke.</p>
<p>"Sorry I was just thinking," Naruto sighed.</p>
<p>"I understand now, your brain is wondering why it's actually being used," Kiba teased.</p>
<p>Naruto threw a pillow at him and glared. They always joked about Naruto being dumb or dense. The truth was it just took him a little longer to understand things and apply himself, especially if he wasn't told directly. The only time he was truly dense was when it came to relationships and understanding when people liked him. "Shut up, this is serious," Naruto whined. Kiba went quiet and looked at his friend, wondering what could get him thinking so much. "It's about Sasuke," Naruto added.</p>
<p>"Of course it is," Kiba let out an exacerbated sigh. He knew it had something to do with him, it always had something to do with him. He had accepted a while ago that his best friend had a crush on Sasuke.</p>
<p>Naruto ignored his comment, deciding it would be no use to respond. "That guy, Orochimaru, came into the coffee shop yesterday. Sasuke practically froze when he came in and then after he left he was distant again. We hardly talked the rest of the day," Naruto sighed in frustration of not know what was going on.</p>
<p>"Is he talking to you today?" Kiba asked. He couldn't help but think that Naruto was just overreacting, that he really had nothing to worry about.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I guess. I mean he's a little distant but nothing like he was before," Naruto said as he looked at his best friend. Kiba's face said it all, the brunette didn't even have to respond for Naruto to know what he was going to say. "Okay I get it, stop looking at me like that. I get it that I may be overreacting a little bit." The blonde had a tendency of blowing things out of proportion, but he felt as if there was something different about this.</p>
<p>"A little? Its not like he stopped talking to you. My guess is that the guy just need to clear his head," Kiba shrugged as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.</p>
<p>"I guess you're probably right," Naruto calmed down. "It's just I feel like I'm on one big roller coaster. You know, one that has lots of loops and hills that we go up and down. One that I've never ridden and never know what's coming next," Naruto said as he lay down on the bed he was sitting on so that he could stare at the ceiling.</p>
<p>"I get what you mean, but roller coasters are fun," Kiba pointed out.</p>
<p>Naruto just glared at his friend, feeling that he didn't understand what he had meant. As he looked at Kiba's smiled, he realized that he knew exactly what he meant. "Shut up," Naruto mumbled. "You know what I mean," the blonde added, making Kiba chuckle.</p>
<p>"Doesn't mean that I can't mess with you," the brunette smirked. “It’s not my fault that you have a crush on Sasuke. Just admit it or at least fuck him and get it out of your system.”</p>
<p>Naruto just rolled his eyes in annoyance, “I don’t have a crush on Sasuke. We’re friends.”</p>
<p>“No, we’re friends, you and Sasuke are something entirely different,” Kiba argued. He was fed up with Naruto’s denial. He knew the teen was bad at feelings, but it was getting out of hand.</p>
<p>“Shut up,” Naruto huffed. “We just have a different kind of friendship. Not every friendship is the same,” he pointed out.</p>
<p>“Yeah, you don’t lust over all of your friends,” Kiba chuckled.</p>
<p>Naruto was silent for a moment as he thought about what Kiba said. “I hate you,” he groaned, still refusing to admit he may have a small crush on his roommate.</p>
<p>“But you didn’t deny it,” Kiba grinned. “Hey!” he yelled as Naruto threw a pillow at him, hitting him in the head. “No need to resort to violence.”</p>
<p>“Please shut up,” Naruto begged. “Let’s just talk about something else, like who my new best friend should be.”</p>
<p>“You could never replace me,” Kiba shook his head with a laugh, but allowed Naruto to change the subject.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Sasuke walked to a part of campus that he knew most people didn't go to because there weren't a lot of classroom buildings or food places. It was mostly staff, but that was only every now and then. Sasuke looked around, making sure Orochimaru was nowhere in sight. He reminded himself that it was the middle of the day and people were on campus. Even if most people didn’t go to that part of campus, he was pretty sure Orochimaru wouldn’t risk it.</p>
<p>Sasuke was debating whether or not to call his brother, weighing is options. He knew that Itachi would immediately know that something was wrong, but finally gave in, dialing the number. Itachi would be the only person who could make things better at this point.<em>"Sasuke, is everything okay?"</em>Itachi answered after only two rings.</p>
<p>"Why does something have to be wrong for me to call?" Sasuke asked. "Can't I just call to say hello?"</p>
<p>"<em>You never do,"</em>Itachi pointed out.<em>"You only call for special occasions or bad ones."</em>Itachi said, making Sasuke sigh, he knew his brother was right. <em>“And today isn’t a special occasion, so what’s worng?”</em></p>
<p>"I'm sorry to bother you, but I really need someone to talk to," he said. He knew his brother was busy so he hated having to resort to calling him. He always tried to work things out on his own or talk to Suigetsu, but there were some things that he needed his brother’s help with.</p>
<p>Itachi got up and closed his office door, making sure that no one would bother him.<em>"Sasuke, you know that you could never bother me,"</em>the older Uchiha replied.<em>"What's going on?"</em>he asked, obviously worried.</p>
<p>"Orochimaru is here, on campus," Sasuke paused. Itachi could tell that he was going to continue so he waited silently for his brother to continue. "He's the guest speaker in my business class and he knows where I work," Sasuke finally added. He didn’t want to tell him what had happened that night, knowing his brother would do something drastic. He just wanted to talk to his brother and have him reassure him that everything was okay, he didn’t want him to do anything that he’d later regret.</p>
<p>Itachi frowned, knowing that Sasuke was more traumatized by Orochimaru. It was understandable considering that he had to endure him longer and the man seemed to favor him, even when Itachi tried to protect him.<em>"Do you need me to come down there?"</em>Itachi asked, knowing that if he were there the older man wouldn't dare mess with Sasuke, even if it wouldn’t last. It wasn't much, but it would give Sasuke a couple days of peace.</p>
<p>"You really don't need to do that," Sasuke argued, not wanting to interrupt his brother's business life. "I know that you're busy," Sasuke added sadly. He always felt like a burden when he called his brother with his problems.</p>
<p>Itachi could hear the tone in his younger brother's voice that meant that he needed him there.<em>"I think that I should,"</em>he said.<em>"I have plenty of time I can take off,"</em>he then added. His brother would always be his top priority, no matter how busy work may be. The work would still be there when he got back, family was more important.</p>
<p>"But you're needed there," Sasuke tried to argue.</p>
<p>"<em>I think that you need me more. They can handle a few days without me. I'll have my cell phone if they need anything. I mean really if they can't be without me a few days then the wrong people are hired,"</em>Itachi said, trying to convince Sasuke that everything would be okay if he took off work a few days.</p>
<p>"Okay," Sasuke said. He knew once Itachi made up his mind, there really was no changing it. "I'll see you then."</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Sasuke started walking toward his dorm when he saw Suigetsu sitting on a bench. His friend looked lost in thought, so he decided to see what was wrong. "What are you doing?" he asked, knowing something was wrong if he was all by himself. The light haired teen always seemed to find someone to hang out with, so there had to be some reason and he had a feeling that it had to do with Kiba. He knew that Suigetsu had been spending a lot of time with Kiba when he wasn't with Sasuke and that he was starting to have feelings for the brunette, so he was worried what the answer may be.</p>
<p>"Avoiding Kiba," Suigetsu answered.</p>
<p>Sasuke just nodded. He wondered what the reason was, knowing it could be a number of things. "Why?" he asked. Sasuke just looked at him, expecting an answer. He wouldn’t push it, but with how often Suigetsu had been there for him, he knew that it was his turn to be a good friend.</p>
<p>Suigetsu felt embarrassed about his reason and wasn’t sure if he wanted to talk about it, but knew that he should. If there was one person he could trust it was Sasuke so he decided to be honest. "Because I'm not sure about my feelings for him," Suigetsu admitted. "I told him I was busy today so that I wouldn't have to hang out with him. Now I'm trying find something to do," he explained.</p>
<p>Sasuke just laughed, he kind of understood, but wasn't going to admit that he may be confused about his feelings for Naruto. He had been teased enough without admitting the truth. "I see, well come on, we can try to find something to do together," Sasuke said.</p>
<p>Suigetsu just smiled, he was happy to have a friend like Sasuke. He knew if by chance Kiba asked what he did that day, the raven would back up his story that they were together all day. Suigetsu got up and followed his best friend, happy to find something to do that would be Kiba free.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Orochimaru sat in his home office. Kabuto was over, listening and agreeing with anything the older man said. The man was his mentor; he planned to take over Sound Incorporated once Orochimaru retired or died. "Listen carefully, we will not, or more cannot, let Sasuke move out," the older man said. He was sure that once the school year ended Sasuke would find that he had nowhere else to go and would be crawling back for a place to stay. It wasn’t as if the dorms would be available during the summer. Students were expected to return home or find somewhere else to stay during that time period.</p>
<p>Kabuto didn't know why Orochimaru was so obsessed with the boy and he had a feeling that he didn't want to know. "What do you want me to do?" he asked, ready to follow any order.</p>
<p>"I need his schedule, daily routine, anything he does, who he hangs out with, I want to know about it," Orochimaru said. "Also, if you see him heading somewhere, you tell me immediately."</p>
<p>Kabuto nodded, "I understand, I won't let you down." He was confused because he was sure that Orochimaru had all of the information he was requesting. He had given him his schedule at the beginning of the semester and with how often he followed Sasuke he was sure that the man knew who the teen hung out with.</p>
<p>"You can't let me down, it would be bad if you did," Orochimaru said, his voice taking a haunting tone to it. "He doesn't know it yet, but he won't move out. I won't let it happen," the older man smirked. Kabuto just nodded, finding the man to be creepier than usual. Something about the boy made something dark within Orochimaru come alive. "I will break him, he will be back in this house," Orochimaru said, more to himself than the other man. Kabuto was sure he didn't want to hear anymore, so he just nodded showing his agreement as he turned to leave, but Orochimaru stopped him. "One last thing, if you see him alone, call me and do anything necessary to keep it that way," he added.</p>
<p>Kabuto just nodded once again, wondering what exactly he had gotten himself into. He knew Orochimaru played dirty with business; he was starting to wonder what else fell under that category. He thought he had a pretty good idea, but as long as he didn't know, he had deniability to protect himself if it all blew up later. "I understand," Kabuto said once again before leaving.</p>
<p>Orochimaru watched the other man leave.<em>'I will have Sasuke back in my grasp. He'll be mine to break.'</em>Orochimaru smirked as he thought,<em>'I can't let him move out, not yet. I'm not done with him.'</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Let me know what you think :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Itachi</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Itachi has arrived...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Itachi stood outside of the dormitory that Sasuke told him he was in, checking the name and room number before heading up to see his brother. He was about to walk in and find the room when he heard his name being called, "Itachi!" It was a voice he knew well so he stopped and turned to face the teen running to catch up with him.</p>
<p>"Hello Suigetsu," Itachi greeted him as he stopped in front of him. He knew that the light haired teen was Sasuke's best friend and one of the few people who knew everything. Sasuke had broken down when he told Itachi that Suigetsu knew, concerned about what would happen. Itachi almost hoped that Suigetsu would tell someone else, but he was a better friend than that and wouldn’t betray Sasuke’s trust. He was happy his brother had someone like that in his life.</p>
<p>"Hey, Sasuke told me you were coming," he said as he caught his breath. "He's still in class so he wanted me to meet you," Suigetsu explained. “I have his key so we can go up to his room and wait for him.”</p>
<p>Itachi nodded. "I see, let's talk," he said as he started to walk into the dormitory. "You'll be honest with me, right?" Itachi then asked, getting straight to the point.</p>
<p>"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Suigetsu said. He knew that Itachi would want to know everything that had been going on, but that was a lot to fit into a short walk and he wasn’t sure if Naruto would be in the room when they got there. He wasn’t particularly comfortable telling Itachi everything out in the open and knew he had to keep it fairly vague in case someone overheard them.</p>
<p>"I know Sasuke won't be honest with me. He is going to try to show me that I didn't need to come down here, so I need you to tell me the truth," Itachi explained. "How is he?" He already knew the answer, but he needed to know the full extent of the damage.</p>
<p>"He has his good days," Suigetsu said, not wanting to worry his Itachi too much. He knew Sasuke's older brother was very protective and it wasn’t his story to tell.</p>
<p>"I know a but is coming," Itachi said, expecting him to continue. He could tell Suigetsu was holding back. Between how Sasuke sounded on the phone and Suigetsu’s nervous tone it was clear something bigger happened.</p>
<p>"Well Orochimaru is a problem still," Suigetsu sighed. "It seems like he's everywhere, you know? I can always tell when he's had a run in with him because his whole attitude changes." Suigetsu didn’t want to cross a line, knowing that he needed to hear it from Sasuke.</p>
<p>"What do you mean by run in?" Itachi asked as he stopped walking. He looked at Suigetsu for explanation.</p>
<p>Suigetsu looked at Itachi, feeling that it should be Sasuke telling him all of it. However, he knew Sasuke would leave a lot out for his brother. "He’s been showing up at his work or around school. There were some incidents, but I think Sasuke should be the one to tell you," Suigetsu explained.</p>
<p>Itachi sighed and started walking again, knowing that was all he’d be getting out of Suigetsu. "Anything else I should know?" Itachi asked. It didn't surprise him that Orochimaru was the cause of the problem once he found out the man was on campus.</p>
<p>"Well, I don't know that it's really a problem," Suigetsu started, causing Itachi to give him a confused look. Suigetsu started explaining, "Sasuke's roommate always wants to know what's going on with Sasuke. He'll be asking questions the whole time you're here." Itachi just nodded, happy to be warned about his little brother's roommate. While he didn’t particularly want to deal with a nosy roommate, it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Naruto was sitting in his room, trying to figure out his math homework. He hated math and wished Sasuke would help him but he knew it was his own fault that he refused. When the door opened, he expected to see Sasuke because he knew that he locked the door. He was surprised to find Suigetsu walking into the room.</p>
<p>"How'd you get in?" Naruto asked when Suigetsu walked in with a guy that looked a lot like Sasuke, only older. Suigetsu held up the key that Sasuke gave him, which he set down nightstand next to Sasuke's bed. "Oh, how'd you get that?" Naruto had meant to ask why Sasuke gave him the key, figuring that Sasuke wouldn't give him his key if it weren't for a good reason.</p>
<p>"How do you think?" Suigetsu asked, looking at the blonde as if he were an idiot. Naruto just looked at him as if he wanted further explanation. "This is Sasuke's brother, Sasuke gave me his key so that I could bring him up here."</p>
<p>"Hi I'm Naruto," he turned his attention to Itachi and introduced himself. He was excited to meet Sasuke's brother, hoping that maybe with him here he might get some more information about what was going on. He knew that he probably wouldn’t and he wasn’t going to push it, but one could hope.</p>
<p>"Hello, I'm Itachi," the man responded. Naruto looked at him with a smile, wondering if that was what was what Sasuke would look like when he was older. They had some features that were different but there was no denying that the Uchihas had good genes. "Is there a reason that you're staring at me?" Itachi asked the blonde with a smirk.</p>
<p>Naruto didn't even realize that he had started to stare, "Was I staring?" Suigetsu just chuckled, knowing it was because he looked like Sasuke. Itachi just nodded, making the blonde say, "Oh, um, sorry."</p>
<p>"Excuse us a moment, I need to speak with Suigetsu in private," Itachi said as he pulled the light haired teen outside of the room.</p>
<p>"What do you need to talk about?" Suigetsu asked once they were out of the room and the door had closed. He had a feeling that he knew, but he wasn't just going to assume. When it involved Itachi, he knew to never just assume.</p>
<p>"You didn't tell me that the boy had a crush on Sasuke," Itachi said.</p>
<p>Suigetsu just laughed, knowing he was going into protective brother mode, not only on the Orochimaru front but also with the possibility of Sasuke dating someone. "I thought it was obvious by telling you about how obsessed he was with figuring out what was going on," Suigetsu sighed, but Itachi just looked at him as if it were a lame excuse. "Fine, I just thought you didn't need to know," he admitted. "They haven't even admitted that they like each other, they don't need you butting into it by going into overprotective brother mode."</p>
<p>"So in other words Sasuke likes him too? That means I should be seeing what kind of guy he is," Itachi was annoyed with not having all the information before meeting the blonde. “I asked you if there was anything else and you didn’t think to tell me about that?”</p>
<p>“It seemed irrelevant,” Suigetsu shrugged as Itachi glared at him. He wouldn’t like, Itachi’s glare affected him far more than Sasuke’s.  </p>
<p>Before the conversation could continue, Sasuke walked up to them. "What are you guys doing out here?" he asked. He knew something was up because they weren't talking in the room. If their talk were innocent, they'd be able to talk in front of Naruto.</p>
<p>"Itachi just wanted to know about Naruto," Suigetsu said. "You know he doesn't trust anyone around you," he added.</p>
<p>Sasuke looked at them to try to see if they were lying, but didn't see any deception. "Okay, well, let's go in," Sasuke said, feeling that the two were acting weird. "I'd rather not have him asking more questions than he already does," he sighed. The two just nodded, knowing the blonde would ask questions either way.</p>
<p>They walked into the room and Itachi wanted to get down to business right away. He knew that Orochimaru would be on campus somewhere, he wanted to make it known that he was here. "Where is he?" Itachi demanded Orochimaru’s whereabouts. They needed to have a long overdue conversation.</p>
<p>Sasuke sighed, annoyed that he asked it in front of Naruto. "Do you really want to talk about this now?" he asked as he looked at the blonde, as if an indication of why he didn't want to talk. Naruto became annoyed that he was the only one in the room who didn't know anything about the situation. He had a feeling he knew who Itachi was talking about, but decided not to say anything.</p>
<p>Sasuke walked over and grabbed his room key, shoving it back into his pocket. "That doesn't answer my question," Itachi huffed. He felt his question didn't give the blonde any information and was more worried about Sasuke than he was about the blonde knowing he wanted to kill the creep.</p>
<p>"I don't know, I don't keep tabs on him," Sasuke said as he sat on his bed with a sigh. "In fact, I'd rather not know. The less I see him the better." He really didn’t want to have this conversation but knew it was unavoidable so long as Itachi was there. He’d prefer to not have Naruto in the room.</p>
<p>"He probably stays on campus as long as he can, but has to go to work so he's probably in the parking lot," Suigetsu said. Sasuke just looked at him, they both knew that Itachi would do something to the man. Orochimaru deserved it, but he knew Naruto would most likely try to find out what was going on as well and he didn’t want Itachi to get in trouble because of him.</p>
<p>"Take me to him," Itachi demanded. Suigetsu looked at Sasuke, as if to say he was sorry. The raven knew he was only doing it to help him so he just sighed and followed them as the two walked out of the room.</p>
<p>"How do you even know where he parks?" Sasuke asked. He wondered if Suigetsu had been keeping tabs on the older man. He hoped that he wasn’t, he didn’t know what Orochimaru would do if he found out someone was watching him.</p>
<p>"I saw him get in his car when I was cutting across the employee parking lot to go get food off campus," Suigetsu explained. "It was around this time when I saw him leaving, I doubt he'd change his routine," he continued. "He probably knows you're done with classes now, so he can leave," Suigetsu reasoned.</p>
<p>"If nothing else, we can find his car and wait for him, he has to come back to it some time," Itachi growled. Sasuke looked at his brother, knowing how angry with the older man he was, he just hoped he wasn't going to do anything too stupid. He was usually able to keep his cool, but when it came to Sasuke it was like a flipped switched and he became a little unpredictable.</p>
<p>"What's going on?" Naruto asked as he followed them. Suigetsu and Sasuke just looked at him, but didn't answer. Itachi was on a mission that was the only way the blonde knew to explain it, so he didn't expect him to answer either.</p>
<p>
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</p>
<p>Orochimaru was putting his things in his car, he had to get to work some time. He had been walking around campus, seeing if he could run into Sasuke any more, but he hadn't. "Orochimaru," he heard from behind him in an angry voice. He smirked, knowing the voice. Clearly he had gotten under Sasuke’s skin if the oldest Uchiha was there.</p>
<p>The man turned around to look at Itachi. It didn't surprise him that Sasuke call his older brother. He was expecting it would eventually. "Hello Itachi," he smirked. The older Uchiha had always put up a fight, in it's own way it was kind of fun.</p>
<p>"Come on," Sasuke said to the other two, knowing it could get ugly and that they shouldn't be there to witness it. Sasuke quickly walked away, not looking back. Naruto lingered a little, but Suigetsu grabbed his arm and pulled him away to follow Sasuke.</p>
<p>Once they were out of earshot, Itachi asked, "What do you think you're doing?" He wasn't afraid of the man; in fact he was ready to hurt him. He kept his composure, but there was a fire burning in him ready to explode.</p>
<p>"I don't know what you mean," Orochimaru just continued to smirk.</p>
<p>"You know exactly what I mean," Itachi said. "We both know why you came here. You couldn't abuse him anymore at your house so you decided to mentally abuse him around campus. You're sick," he glared.</p>
<p>"Can you prove your claims?" the man asked innocently. "Wait, I know that answer, you can't. Sasuke wouldn't go to the police about the abuse, now he has no proof that it ever happened," he smiled smugly.</p>
<p>"You listen very carefully," Itachi said. "You keep this up and you will feel more pain than Sasuke ever did," he threaten. He was ready to punch him then and there but he knew better. They were in public and once he started he wasn’t sure that he’d be able to stop himself from killing the man.</p>
<p>"Who's going to bring this pain?" Orochimaru asked. "You're not here to protect him anymore, remember? I know you used to take the pain for him, but you can't anymore, you haven’t been able to for years," he said reminded Itachi that Sasuke had suffered alone while Itachi was at college and eventually at work. “He’s mine, just accept it.”</p>
<p>Itachi watched as Orochimaru opened his car door. It took all of his self-control to not beat him to a pulp. “Sasuke’s stronger than you give him credit for, he’ll move on from this. You don’t have control over him anymore,” Itachi told him.</p>
<p>“He wasn’t saying that last time we saw each other,” Orochimaru said as he sat in his car. “But I’m sure he didn’t tell you about that. He’s weak, I’ll always be there in the back of his mind.” </p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" Naruto asked as they walked back to their dorm. He was sick of being in the dark about everything that was going on. It was obviously worse than he thought if Itachi was there, looking as if he were ready to kill someone.”</p>
<p>"This is none of your business," Sasuke hissed. He was being secretive and cold again and Naruto was getting sick of it. One minute he would be fine and it seemed as if they were friends and the next he would put up his walls again.</p>
<p>"I'm really sick of hearing that," the blonde said as he stopped walking. He hated secrets; he just wished that Sasuke would tell him what was going on. Naruto knew he couldn’t force him to tell him; it would only make things worse if he tried, but he was concerned.</p>
<p>Sasuke turned to look at him, stopping as well. "What don't you get that this is nothing about you're business?" Sasuke asked, looking as if he would break at any moment. He was already upset and Naruto was only making things worse. "If I don't want to tell you then I don't have to," Sasuke said, aggravated.</p>
<p>Naruto frowned, knowing he had crossed the line once again. "I'm sorry," he apologized, looking down. Sasuke didn't say anything else; he just turned and started walking again. Suigetsu just shook his head at the blonde, silently telling him to let it go. No matter how much he hated not knowing, he’d have to wait for Sasuke to be ready to tell him.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Itachi walked back into the room, looking angry. "Are you okay?" Sasuke asked his brother. He knew Orochimaru had a way of getting into people's head.</p>
<p>"I don't want to talk about it," Itachi said. “What I do want to talk about is what the fuck happened that you’re not telling me.”</p>
<p>Naruto just rolled his eyes, thinking that the brothers were somewhat similar; neither of them seemed to talk about things other people wanted to know, yet they demanded answers to their questions. Naruto's phone rang, interrupting the conversation. He looked at the caller ID, seeing it was his own brother. He found it funny that while Sasuke's brother was there his brother decided to call him. "I'll take this outside so you guys can talk," he said as he walked out of the room.</p>
<p>Once the blonde was out of the room Itachi turned towards his brother, “Tell me what happened.” It wasn’t a question; it was a demand. He wasn’t going to let it go, he had to know what happened. It was clear there was more to the story than what either of the teens had told him.</p>
<p>Sasuke looked down, feeling vulnerable under his brother’s gaze. “There were two incidents but I’m fine,” he tried to avoid talking about what had happened.</p>
<p>“Not good enough, I want to know what happened,” Itachi wasn’t backing down.</p>
<p>“Trust me, you really don’t want to know,” Sasuke bit his bottom lip, refusing to make any eye contact. “Please just let it go,” he begged his brother.</p>
<p>“No,” Itachi refused to leave without an explanation.</p>
<p>Sasuke sighed as he gave in, recounting both encounters with Orochimaru. He felt weak and still couldn’t make any eye contact. He sat on his bed, curing into himself as he tried not to cry. He could feel the tears forming, but wouldn’t let them fall.</p>
<p>“I’m going to kill him,” Itachi clenched his hands into fists. He was ready to go to Orochimaru’s office and kill him. He didn’t care about the consequences.</p>
<p>“Please let it go,” Sasuke pleaded. “It’s not worth it. He’s not worth fucking up your life,” Sasuke told him.</p>
<p>“But you are,” Itachi argued.</p>
<p>“Then respect my wishes and don’t do anything stupid,” Sasuke countered. “Please.” Itachi just nodded, not liking what Sasuke was asking of him. Orochimaru didn’t deserve the life he had; he deserved to be buried six feet under.</p>
<p>
  <b>NS</b>
</p>
<p>"Hey Kurama," he answered. "What's up?" he asked, wondering why his brother was calling him, he never called without a reason.</p>
<p>"Well, I thought that I'd come to see you," the older Uzumaki said. This surprised Naruto, wondering why his brother would just stop by. His brother wasn’t one to just drop by to see him for no reason. They were close but the college wasn’t close enough to his house for him to just visit.</p>
<p>"Why?" he asked, the blonde didn't mean to sound as surprised as he did.</p>
<p>Kurama chuckled at his brother's surprised tone, though he guessed that he deserved it. "Well, I won't be able to come see you for your birthday like I promised," he explained. "So I thought that I'd come see you now."</p>
<p>"Okay," Naruto said, happy his brother was going to at least make an effort see him close to his birthday. "When are you going to come?" he asked.</p>
<p>"Probably tomorrow," he said. "We can hang out and go out to dinner. You don't have class tomorrow do you?" he asked. He was pretty sure he had written Naruto’s schedule down correctly when his brother told him. He made him tell him so he knew when he could call without interrupting his class.</p>
<p>"Only for a little bit in the morning, but after that we can definitely hang out," Naruto told him. "Hey my roommate's older brother is here right now, maybe we can all hang out,” he wasn’t sure why the first thing that came to mind was to invite Sasuke and his brother. "I'll try to see if he's staying until tomorrow," he added, not bothering to wait for a response from his brother.</p>
<p>His brother could tell by the tone in his voice that there was something special about his roommate. He seemed to get excited when he talked about him and it made Kurama want to meet him. "That sounds great," he chuckled. "I'll see you tomorrow."</p>
<p>"See you then," Naruto said, hanging up the phone. He walked back into the room, smiling.</p>
<p>Sasuke just raised an eyebrow at his cheery mood. "What's with you're sudden change in mood?" he asked, putting on a façade that everything was okay. He didn’t want Naruto to see him so vulnerable again, especially since he knew it would ruin Naruto’s good mood. He refused to acknowledge why he cared if he ruined his good mood, telling himself that it was just that he didn’t want to come across as weak to anyone.</p>
<p>Itachi looked at his little brother, surprised that he even cared. He was starting to think Suigetsu was right because Sasuke seemed to put up with the blonde much more than expected. Sasuke had changed his entire demeanor when the blonde entered the room happy. </p>
<p>"My brother's coming tomorrow since he won't be able to come for my birthday," Naruto smiled. "We're going to hang out and go out to dinner. You guys can join us if you want."</p>
<p>"Itachi has to get back to work," Sasuke said quickly.</p>
<p>Itachi just looked at his little brother; he thought it would be interesting to see him interact with the blonde in a different environment that didn’t involve Orochimaru. "Don't be foolish Sasuke, I can stay one more day. I already have a hotel close to the school set up," Itachi told him. He said he’d drop the Orochimaru issue, he didn’t say anything about Naruto. Sasuke just looked at him, surprised that he would take another day off. Suigetsu on the other hand knew exactly what he was doing and gave the older Uchiha a warning look.</p>
<p>"Great, it'll be fun," Naruto smiled. Somehow Naruto had managed to lighten the mood with just his smile. The rest of them tried to forget about the conversation they were having and focused on Naruto’s news.</p>
<p>Itachi just smirked at his brother. "Yes it will," he agreed. "But I should be getting back to my hotel, I'm sure you both are getting tired." He may not be able to do anything about Orochimaru, but he was going to find out more about Sasuke’s roommate.</p>
<p>"I'm going to go too," Suigetsu said, following Itachi out. He gave him a look of disappointment once they were out of the room.</p>
<p>"Don't look at me like that," Itachi said. He knew what the other was thinking.</p>
<p>"I told you not to meddle," Suigetsu reminded him, knowing Sasuke wouldn’t want him to meddle with his love life, especially when he had yet to accept that there might be something more between him and Naruto. "Don't do anything stupid tomorrow, please."</p>
<p>"I won't, I promise," he chuckled. "I just want to see if you are right," he explained. "Maybe mess with the boy a little. If I can’t deal with Orochimaru, I’m going to at least find out if Sasuke has a crush on this kid."</p>
<p>Suigetsu just shook his head, “Naruto’s a good guy. A little nosy and curious, but he’s harmless. Just let them figure it out on their own.” Itachi just rolled his eyes and Suigetsu knew that he really wasn't listening to him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I tried to end this chapter on not such a depressing note considering how the rest of the chapter was...let me know what you think.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Brothers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm so sorry for how long this took to update.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kurama arrived at eleven in the morning, just after Naruto's class was done. "So where's your roommate?" his brother asked, hoping to get some kind of reaction out of his brother. He could tell it would be an interesting interaction just from the way Naruto had talked about his roommate.</p>
<p>"I wanted the two of us to just hang out this morning. He and his brother are going to meet up with us later," he said. Kurama just nodded. "Why do you ask?" he wondered.</p>
<p>"I don't know, you just sounded a little excited when you talked about him yesterday," Kurama shrugged. He looked at Naruto with a knowing smirk.</p>
<p>Naruto blushed, he hoped that his brother wouldn't see that he was a little attracted to Sasuke, but with the look he gave him he knew that his brother had noticed. He wasn’t sure how Kurama managed to see right through him without even meeting the other teen. "I don't know what you're talking about," Naruto tried to act nonchalant as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.</p>
<p>Kurama could tell just by his brother’s mannerisms that he was lying. "You sure you don't like him a little?" Kurama teased. He saw his brother blush again and he knew he was onto something. With how obvious Naruto was he wasn’t sure how his roommate hadn’t caught on to his feelings, which he didn’t even know how to label. His heart screamed that it was a crush, but his mind was set on it being completely platonic.</p>
<p>"No," he said a little too defensively. "I mean he's hot and all, but he's a jerk. I don't like him in that way. We’re just friends,” Naruto wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince, himself or his brother. Perhaps it was both, even if he didn’t want to admit it. He’d happily live in denial, no matter how much he thought about their ‘not a date’ night.</p>
<p>Kurama laughed, knowing his brother obviously hadn't fully accepted the fact that he had a crush on the other boy. He felt bad for Naruto, knowing he was probably fighting against himself when it came to his feelings. "If you say so," he said. "I can't wait to meet him," he smirked.</p>
<p>Naruto sighed, knowing that his brother didn't believe him. "Don't embarrass me," Naruto pleaded, making Kurama's smirk widen.</p>
<p>"Naruto, you know I'd never do that," he mischievously smiled. "Especially not in front of your crush," he teased.</p>
<p>"So you’re going to embarrass me," he sighed. He paused a moment before realizing he hadn’t denied his crush on Sasuke, "He's not my crush." Naruto knew better than to trust the smile that Kurama was giving him. He was starting to think it might have been a bad idea inviting the Uchiha brothers to dinner with them.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
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<p>Naruto had told Sasuke to meet him and his brother at the diner across from the school. When the Uchiha brothers walked in, something in Kurama lit up. "Is that your roommate and his brother?" he asked, mainly looking at the older of the two.</p>
<p>"Yeah, how did you know?" Naruto asked. He then looked at the look on his brother's face and he could already tell he was interested. The man hadn't even spoken a word to him, but apparently that didn't matter to Kurama. He did have to admit there was a certain air about the oldest Uchiha that demanded attention so he could understand his brother’s instant attraction.</p>
<p>"I can see why you like him," Kurama smirked. "The family has good genes," he was obviously checking Itachi out and didn't care who noticed. His attention had seemed to shift from wanting to tease Naruto to focusing on Itachi. Naruto wasn’t sure whether he could be happy or upset with the change. He didn’t want to think about why he’d be upset about his brother being interested; it certainly wasn’t because he felt it would be a little weird for him to date Sasuke while Kurama was dating Itachi.</p>
<p>"I don't like him," Naruto whispered, as the two got closer. He smiled when they walked over, ending the conversation between the brothers. "Hey guys," Naruto said.</p>
<p>"Hello," Itachi greeted as he sat down across from Kurama. Itachi’s face was neutral as he shamelessly checked out Kurama. Naruto sighed, thinking that the night wasn't going to go as he had planned. He just wanted a nice night and he knew his brother was going to ruin that by going into flirt mode.</p>
<p>"Hi," Sasuke said as he sat down. Naruto couldn't help but notice that Sasuke didn't seem worried about their brothers. He wondered if he didn't notice it or if he was just okay with the two flirting. Sasuke had said on numerous occasions that he didn’t like Naruto, if that were true then there’d be no reason for him to care. He refused to admit that a small part of him was hoping he just hadn’t noticed.</p>
<p>"Hi, I'm Kurama," he said with a smile as he extended his hand to Itachi. Their hands lingered together for a moment longer than Naruto liked, making him give his brother a look. Kurama just shrugged, blowing him off. He also gave Sasuke a much quicker handshake, not wanting to make his brother jealous.</p>
<p>The waitress walked over, smiling about the fact that she had four attractive men at the table to serve. "Are you guys ready to order or do you need a little more time?" she asked. She tried to look as cute as possible in the required uniform, standing in a way that she thought made her figure look good. Much to her annoyance, she got no response from any of the men, except their food orders. "Okay, I'll be right back with your drinks," she batted her eyelashes, before walking away.</p>
<p>"Could she be anymore obvious?" Naruto rolled his eyes. "You should go for her Kurama, she was practically undressing you with her eyes," he teased, knowing his brother was bi.</p>
<p>"I'm not interested in<em>her</em>," he said as he looked straight as Itachi. "Especially when there's someone better looking around," Kurama smirked.</p>
<p>Naruto could only roll his eyes and hope the food arrived quickly. He really didn't want to sit through an entire night of listening to his brother flirt with Itachi. Naruto looked at Sasuke and noticed that he still didn't even seem to care.</p>
<p>"So Kurama, what is it you do for a living?" Itachi asked. It he wasn’t sure what annoyed him more: that the older Uchiha was just encouraging his brother or that Sasuke was doing nothing to stop it.</p>
<p>"Why does it matter?" he asked as he looked into the other's black eyes. "Do you have certain qualifications?" It was no secret that between their money and good looks, the Uchihas could be as picky as they wanted when it came to dating. He wouldn’t be surprised if either one had a list of requirements that needed to be met.</p>
<p>"Just making conversation," Itachi answered smoothly, but Kurama didn't look convinced. "But wouldn't I have to be interested in you for you to have to meet certain qualifications? I believe you're the only one who's said they're interested," Itachi smirked.</p>
<p>"Oh, we both know you are," Kurama said with a predatory look on his face. Naruto was starting to feel very awkward sitting in on the conversation between their brothers. He wanted to intervene but at the same time didn’t want to upset the oldest Uchiha. Again, he wouldn’t admit why it was so important to him that he made a good impression.</p>
<p>Sasuke looked over at the blonde, seeing him squirm in his seat. "You know we're still here right?" the raven asked. While he'd been ignoring the conversation, it was obvious that Naruto didn't have the ability to do so, so he stepped in.</p>
<p>"You're right," Itachi said with a smirk. "Naruto, are you doing well in school?" he asked. Sasuke didn’t have the best track record when it came to guys he was attracted to. While Sasuke may not have told him directly when he was attracted to someone, he’d heard enough form Suigetsu to know Sasuke could have questionable taste in guys. He knew that people couldn’t really control what they were physically attracted to, but Sasuke’s type often turned out to be the stereotypical blonde jock. Sasuke had never actually dated that type of guy, and based on Suigetsu’s support of the potential relationship he was pretty sure that Naruto wasn’t like that, but he still had to see it for himself.</p>
<p>"Well, Sasuke's been helping me with it," Naruto said nervously, wondering why Itachi cared. He didn't like having the older Uchiha's attention on him. The way the older Uchiha looked at him made him feel extremely self-conscious.</p>
<p>"Is he now? I didn't know that you tutored," he smirked at his brother. "That's nice of you," the older Uchiha said. He was quiet for a moment before he added, "Very out of character, in fact."</p>
<p>Sasuke was glaring at him, he knew exactly what he was insinuating. He could see that his brother thought he was attracted to the blonde. "Shut up Itachi," he tried to keep his emotions in check but the smirk on his face told him that he was not doing a very good job. Itachi knew him far too well so it was no surprise that he picked up on whatever Sasuke was feeling, no matter how many times Sasuke told him that there was nothing between him and Naruto and that there never would be.  </p>
<p>Kurama looked at their brothers and sighed, he wanted to get to know Itachi better and it seemed that wouldn’t happen with their brothers at the table. He looked toward the few arcade games that the diner had to keep kids occupied while they waited for their food and he said, "Here why don't you two go play some games." He pointed to the games in the corner and handed Naruto money.</p>
<p>"I'm not a kid anymore you know," said Naruto, by his tone of voice it was easy to tell that he was offended.</p>
<p>Sasuke just chuckled at his reaction, wondering why if it made Naruto so uncomfortable to sit there, he didn't just take the money and go play the game. He almost said something about it, but he thought it best not to.</p>
<p>"I know you still play video games, so just go play while we talk," Kurama said, he gave him a look that said he didn't want to be argued with. “We’ll let you know when the food is here.”</p>
<p>Sasuke just shook his head and grabbed the money and Naruto's arm, "Come on moron." Naruto was surprised by the action, but he went with it and followed Sasuke to the game.</p>
<p>"Why'd you do that?" he asked. "They were starting to talk to us," Naruto huffed, unhappy with Sasuke’s decision.</p>
<p>"But they weren't going to continue to," Sasuke sighed, it seemed obvious to him that Kurama wanted alone time with his brother. He put the money in the machine, making the game start. "Just let them talk, who cares?" he asked.</p>
<p>"Aren't you worried? What if they end up dating, or worse what if they end up being together forever? You could end up being my brother's brother-in-law. We'd basically be family," Naruto looked horrified at the idea. Sasuke just rolled his eyes, as if the blonde was a moron for even thinking that it would happen.</p>
<p>"Aren't you jumping the gun a little?" Sasuke sighed. Naruto almost protested, but Sasuke cut him off saying, "Just don't worry, it won't happen." He sounded so confident in his statement, but Naruto was unsure why.</p>
<p>"How do you know?" Naruto asked, hoping it would ease his worries.</p>
<p>"Kisame won't let it," Sasuke shrugged. Naruto didn’t respond, expecting Sasuke to continue with his explanation. "Kisame works with him and has been in love with him for years. Itachi may not act like it, but he likes him too," Sasuke explained. "While he may flirt with your brother, my guess is that it won't last, not if Kisame has anything to say about it." Naruto just nodded, feeling a little bit of comfort in his words. At the same time he was worried that Itachi would lead him on and Kurama would end up hurt. It was only for a weekend so he decided not to worry too much about it, telling himself once they went their separate ways it was unlikely anything further would happen.</p>
<p>They played until the food came and Naruto was happy because Sasuke actually talked to him. It seemed as if having his brother there was good for him, he seemed more relaxed. He thought it might be awkward because of the mini-fight they had the previous day, but Sasuke was acting as if nothing even happened.</p>
<p>"Guys, the food is here," Kurama called them over. He smirked at the two of them and how comfortable they seemed around each other. He was actually happy that the Uchiha brothers came, not only did he get to meet Itachi, but he got to see his little brother in crush mode. He hadn’t seen Naruto act that way in a long time and it was good to see him happy, even if he was in complete denial as to the reason.</p>
<p>Itachi had talked to Kurama practically all night, but that didn't mean that he wasn't observing the other man's little brother and how he acted with Sasuke. After dinner Kurama and Itachi trailed behind Sasuke and Naruto as they walked back to the campus. He couldn't see anything bad about Naruto, so he decided there was no reason for him to intervene. From what he could tell Sasuke seemed to like him more than he wanted to admit.</p>
<p>"I should be getting back to my hotel, I need to pack and get heading back," Itachi said once they reached the parking lot. "I'll see you soon, I promise," he said to Sasuke, who just nodded with a small smile. Itachi couldn’t help but pull his brother into a short, but reassuring, hug. They generally weren’t the type to hug, but certain situations called for it and he knew Sasuke needed it after all he had been through recently. “Be careful,” he told him quietly, making sure the other two couldn’t hear him.</p>
<p>"I should get going too," Kurama said, inadvertently interrupting the moment between the other two brothers. "I'll make sure to call you on your birthday though Naruto," the older Uzumaki promised as he pat his brother on the back.</p>
<p>Naruto just smiled as he and Sasuke waved goodbye to their brothers, who walked off in the same direction. "They're exchanging numbers aren't they?" Naruto asked as he saw them with their phones out.</p>
<p>"Probably, but who cares? Our brothers are old enough to do what they want," Sasuke said as he started towards their dorm, knowing Naruto would follow once he started walking.</p>
<p>"I guess," Naruto sighed. His mind wandered back to the reason why he didn’t want their brothers to be together. If he were honest, there was really only one situation that would make it weird. <em>'I can't like him I just like his looks. That's normal, everyone does,'</em><span class="apple-converted-space"> he</span> didn't really believe himself, which confused him all the more. Naruto glanced at Sasuke as they walked back to their dorm in comfortable silence. He hoped it was just everyone's teasing getting to him and not actual feelings starting to surface.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, I was thinking as to whether I should add the eventual smut to the chapter that it is currently implied in or if I should just make a chapter dedicated to smut. There are still a lot of chapters before it gets to that point but let me know what you think.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. The Movies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This one got revised more than I thought it would.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kiba was getting annoyed, every time he tried to hang out with Suigetsu the other boy had some excuse as to why he couldn't hang out. He let out a frustrated sigh, realizing he was being avoided. He decided it was time to take measures into his own hands. He walked down to Suigetsu's dorm and knocked on the door a little more forcefully than necessary. Juugo opened the door and seemed nervous when he saw Kiba standing in front of him, which meant he knew that Suigetsu was lying to him about being busy. "Where is he?" the brunette demanded.</p><p>"Who?" Juugo decided it would be best to play dumb. Kiba just gave him an annoyed look and pushed his way into the room. "Did I invite you in?" Juugo huffed, a little angry that Kiba seemed to have no respect for him.</p><p>"Juugo it's okay," Suigetsu reassured him before the other's temper got out of hand. He knew he could go from calm to violent in a flash and could turn out bad if you didn't know how to deal with him. Juugo just nodded and shut the door, walking over to his bed. He made no attempt to pretend that he wasn’t listening in on their conversation. "What do you want?" Suigetsu asked as he turned his attention to Kiba, though he didn't look straight at him.</p><p>"You're avoiding me," Kiba got straight to the point. Suigetsu wanted to deny it, but everyone knew that it was true. Kiba just looked at him with such confusion and he knew it wasn't fair to keep his distance just because of some little crush. They had been becoming good friends and he shouldn’t be letting unrequited feelings prevent him from being his friend. Unfortunately that was a lot easier said than done.</p><p>"I'm sorry," he mumbled as he tried to find a good excuse. "I've been a little busy. But I'm free now, let's hang out today," Suigetsu suggested, hoping his smile seemed genuine. "We can go get Sasuke and Naruto and all hang out," he added, not wanting to be alone with the brunette.</p><p>Kiba didn't really believe that Suigetsu had been busy, but he kept his opinion quiet. He didn’t want to fight; he just wanted his friend back. "Fine, let's go get them," he agreed, satisfied that Suigetsu was no longer avoiding him. He walked out of the room, expecting Suigetsu to follow him.</p><p>The light haired teen frowned, knowing that Kiba was still a little angry with him. It hurt worse because he knew he had every right to be. In Kiba’s mind Suigetsu had been avoiding him for no reason. He just sighed, hoping that the day would make up for any avoiding he had been doing.<em>'I can't let this affect our friendship,'</em>Suigetsu told himself as he followed the brunette down the hall.</p><p>
  <b>NS</b>
</p><p>Naruto stared at the math problem in front of him trying to figure it out on his own. He had been staring at the same problem for at least ten minutes with no luck. No matter how many times he tried to understand the equation in front of him he knew that his answer was wrong. He looked over at Sasuke, who was concentrating on reading for one of his classes, and he couldn't help but wonder if it would be pushing the boundaries to ask him for help again. Ultimately he decided it was at least worth a try. "So, Sasuke, you know how you stopped tutoring me?" Naruto asked, trying to be nonchalant about it.</p><p>Sasuke looked up from his textbook and sighed, "Yeah, why?" He didn't know why he even bothered asking because he knew what the answer was going to be. The blonde had been asking him to tutor him for frequently, hoping that eventually his answer would change.</p><p>"Well," Naruto started, trying to see how he should go about phrasing it. Despite having asked on multiple occasions it still made him nervous asking again. "You see I'm not doing so well in my classes right now, at least not in math. It being midterm and all, I'm just worried if I don't get my grades up now, I'll never be able to," he tried to explain why he was asking first, rather than just straight out asking, hoping to get some sympathy from the raven. "I was hoping that maybe you'd tutor me again. At least just start with one class and go from there,” he pled.</p><p>Sasuke was silent for a while, he wasn't sure that he should tutor the blonde. Naruto seemed to make some feelings rise in him that he wasn't ready to face and that he wasn't quite sure of, which really made him want to say no. As he looked at the other teen he found himself unable to say no, which bothered him, but he refused to question the reason why he couldn’t seem to say no again. It made him very conflicted and very confused. Before his mind could process, he answered, "Fine."</p><p>"Great," Naruto smiled. "So can we start now? I'm so confused about our math homework," he gave a nervous laugh which made Sasuke roll his eyes. The dark haired teen didn't say anything; he just marked his place in his book and walked over to help the blonde. "You're the best," Naruto grinned.</p><p>"Hn, I know," Sasuke smirked before he sat to help him. He wasn’t going to admit that the words made his heart flutter or acknowledge the small smile he was hiding behind a smirk.</p><p>There was just something about studying that seemed to draw Naruto and Sasuke closer, at least physically. The entire sides of their bodies were touching, though they didn't even notice how close they were. It was as if they were lost in their own little world where it was normal for them to be so close to each other. "See it's not that hard," Sasuke said as he looked at Naruto. Sasuke couldn’t help the small smile that crossed his lips when the blonde seemed to happy that he was finally understanding the material.</p><p>Naruto looked at Sasuke to say something, but he never got the chance. Suigetsu and Kiba walked into their room, as they always did. Perhaps it was their own fault for never locking the door when they were in their room, but the other teens could at least have the decency to knock. "You guys look comfortable," Kiba looked at how close they were, especially how close their faces were. He couldn’t help but notice that Sasuke was smiling, even if it was just a small smile.</p><p>Naruto and Sasuke quickly moved away from each other, trying not to blush. "We were just studying," Naruto said quickly. It was the truth but it sounded as if it weren't. Their reaction made it seem much less innocent of a moment than it actually was.</p><p>"Is that what you're calling it?" Suigetsu laughed. Sasuke just glared at him, but he just smiled and ignored it. He knew Sasuke too well to believe him when he said that his feelings towards Naruto were purely platonic. Sasuke could try to fool himself all he wanted, but he wasn’t fooling Suigetsu.</p><p>"I'm serious," the blonde said, more confidently. He hadn't even realized how close they were. Thinking about it made his heart race as he thought about if he had turned his head a little more towards Sasuke there would be very little space between their lips. He wasn’t sure what it was about studying with Sasuke that always made his mind wander into the gutter, but the images in his head were far from two friends studying together.</p><p>Kiba just rolled his eyes knowing that the two were in denial, "Yeah, whatever you say." The brunette decided to just spare them more embarrassment and change the subject, "We wanted to hang out today."</p><p>"Unless you guys already had plans," Suigetsu smirked, causing Kiba to laugh. The light haired teen couldn't help it, he knew if he were in the same situation the two of them would be teasing him too. Part of him actually wondered what might have happened if they hadn’t walked in the room.</p><p>"It'd be fun to get out and do something today," Naruto said as he gave Suigetsu a nasty look as he ignored the part of him that wanted to be doing what Suigetsu was insinuating. "What did you have in mind?" he asked, focusing his attention on Kiba.</p><p>"I don't know," the brunette shrugged. He thought about it for a while before suggesting, "That new horror movie came out yesterday, we could go see that."</p><p>Sasuke didn't look very comfortable with the idea, which made Naruto surprised. "That sounds fun to me," the blonde smiled. He wanted to ask why Sasuke seemed so uncomfortable. Sasuke had a tough exterior so he hadn’t thought that horror films would scare the teen. At the same time he was starting to figure out that that hard exterior was more of a shield than it was reality.</p><p>Suigetsu looked at his best friend, surprised that he didn't protest. "Sounds good," he said hesitantly. He figured if Sasuke didn't protest, then he must be okay with going to the movie.</p><p>"Great, then let's go," Kiba smiled before heading to the movie theater.</p><p>Sasuke couldn't help but feel uneasy the entire way to the theater. He hardly remembered the trip there, having tuned out the conversation. He was just on autopilot, following his friends while he remained silent. He hated horror movies. The problem was that in his mind if he said that he hated horror movies he could be seen as weak. He hated feeling weak so he buried it down deep and hoped he could pretend it was all oaky. Sasuke looked at the ground as they stood in line for the movie, not wanting to show what he was feeling.</p><p>"Are you okay Sasuke?" Naruto asked quietly, not wanting to draw attention. The raven didn't verbally answer him; he just nodded his head and continued to look at the ground. Naruto didn't believe him, but he knew he wasn't going to get a real answer. The blonde sighed as they went to get their tickets and go into the theater.</p><p>Sasuke was okay when the movie started. He would close his eyes every now and then and tried to play it off as if the movie was boring and putting him to sleep, but by the middle of the movie it wasn't working. Sasuke hated seeing movies in the theater because it was dark in the theatre, especially during horror movies. Watching movies was fine when he was somewhere he felt comfortable and safe, but even a theatre with plenty of people around didn’t’ feel safe. He had sat in the seat at the end of the row, the middle made him feel as if he were trapped. He had hoped that Suigetsu would sit next to him, but Naruto got there first.</p><p>By the middle of the movie, Sasuke found himself moving closer to Naruto. It was just a reflex, not by choice. Every time something caused him to jump, he seemed to move closer. It shocked Naruto when he felt the raven grab onto his arm. "Are you okay?" Naruto whispered.</p><p>Sasuke didn't answer the question; rather he just buried his head into Naruto's shoulder. It was uncomfortable because of the armrest between them, but he didn't care. Normally he might have bolted when fear took over, but for some reason he found a little bit of comfort with Naruto. He felt safer, though he’d never admit it.</p><p>"Seriously, are you okay?" Naruto whispered again, but he once again didn't get an answer. Instead of trying to ask again, he just put his arm around Sasuke to try to calm him down. The blonde didn't know what else to do, he figured that comforting him was the only logical thing. "It's just a movie," he whispered.</p><p>Normally Sasuke would have run away from touches. He would have ran as fast as he could from someone trying to touch him when he was in such a state of mind. Somehow having Naruto’s arm around him comforted him, which scared him for an entirely different reason.</p><p>Kiba looked over at the two surprised by how Sasuke was acting, not only because he was scared, but also that he let Naruto try to comfort him. He turned to Suigetsu and whispered, "So much for Uchihas being tough." The light haired teen didn't laugh like he wanted him to, making the brunette just sigh and turn back to the movie. He could see Suigetsu continually looking over at Sasuke with a concerned look on his face and he knew it wasn’t just about a movie. He made quick eye contact with Naruto before the blonde turned his attention back to Sasuke. It only seemed to confirm that there was a big piece of the puzzle they were missing.</p><p>Once the movie was over, Sasuke hurried out of the theater, followed quickly by Suigetsu. "Sasuke, are you okay?" Suigetsu asked when he caught up to the other teen. He waited for the other to calm down a bit before he expected an answer. Part of him was kicking himself for not suggesting another movie. He should have known that Sasuke’s pride would get in the way of doing what was truly best for his mental health.</p><p>"You know I hate those kinds of movies," Sasuke said as he looked at the ground. His voice was timid and a little shaky. Before Suigetsu could respond, Kiba and Naruto caught up to them. Sasuke didn't look at either of them he just remained silent.</p><p>"What was that about?" Kiba asked, looking at Suigetsu and Sasuke.</p><p>The two were silent; Suigetsu was looking at Sasuke to answer the question because he knew that he couldn't. "I just don't like those kind of movies," Sasuke said before walking toward the exit of the theater, trying to end the conversation.</p><p>"We didn't have to see the movie," Naruto said to Suigetsu, knowing he'd know the reasons for Sasuke's actions.</p><p>"I think it's best that we just stop talking about it," Suigetsu said as he started to follow Sasuke. His tone made it clear that it wasn’t a suggestion; it was the end of the conversation.</p><p>Naruto and Kiba briefly looked at each other before following the other two teens. Naruto wanted to know more about why Sasuke reacted the way he did, but he decided not to ask. The blonde figured he didn't want it to be more awkward than it already was going to be, considering how Sasuke was practically clinging to him the entire movie.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I wanted to show the internal conflict of liking someone you feel like you shouldn't and also Sasuke's conflict when it came to his pride vs what's good for him mentally. Hopefully I did that. Let me know what you think.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Birthday</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Four more chapters until we get to the half way point of this story...</p><p>This was kind of a fun chapter to write so hopefully everyone likes it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been a week and things were still a little awkward between Naruto and Sasuke. The problem was that Naruto didn't know what to say to Sasuke to make it less awkward. For once it wasn’t his fault so he couldn’t just say sorry to fix it. He was pretty sure that Sasuke was embarrassed. The other teen wouldn’t even make eye contact with him and did his best to avoid any conversation beyond small talk and tutoring him. He hoped that he could talk Sasuke into hanging out with their friends for his birthday, though he had a feeling that it would take a lot of convincing. Naruto wanted to party for his birthday and he hoped that in doing so he could make things smooth over, not thinking about how mixing him and Sasuke with alcohol usually made things more awkward, not less.</p><p>Naruto walked into his and Sasuke's room to find Sasuke studying on his bed. He figured it would be the perfect opportunity to invite him to his birthday party. "Hey Sasuke," the blonde smiled, causing the raven only to look up, though he didn’t respond. "What are you doing?" he asked, though he knew it was fairly obvious.</p><p>"Studying," Sasuke answered as he looked back down at his book. He knew he was probably being a little childish about the whole thing. No one had said anything about the movie incident since that night, but that didn’t make him any less uncomfortable with the situation. He wasn't sure if they were just doing that to spare him the humiliation, or if it really wasn't that big of a deal. To him it was because it hurt his pride to resort to practically cling to the blonde during something as simple as a movie.</p><p>"Well, what are you doing tonight?" Naruto asked, trying to sound nonchalant. He was hoping to get some real responses from Sasuke, but it seemed as if he wouldn't be so lucky.</p><p>"Sleeping," Sasuke tried to end the conversation. He knew that Naruto was going to attempt to get him to go somewhere and hoped his clipped responses would make the blonde give up. Given the blonde’s history, he knew that the other teen wouldn’t give up that easily.</p><p>"How about before sleeping, you come to my birthday party," Naruto grinned. "It'll be fun and there will be lots of alcohol," he tried to convince him.</p><p>"Do you really want to mix us and alcohol again?" Sasuke asked. He knew it really wasn't a good idea to ask the question, but he was trying to get out of going.</p><p>"Come on if we don't get too drunk then it won't end up the same way," Naruto rolled his eyes, trying to not let his mind drift back to their history with alcohol. He was trying to suppress his feelings and those memories did not help. "Please, you don't even have to buy me a present, just come. But a present would be nice too," the blonde joked.</p><p>Sasuke just glared, though Naruto was unfazed by it. "I need to study," Sasuke said, turning away from the blonde. Naruto tried to act like there wouldn’t be a lot of alcohol but Sasuke knew better. It was his birthday and there was no doubt in his mind that his friends would be providing him an abundance of alcohol.</p><p>Naruto wasn't going to take no for an answer, he grabbed the book from Sasuke, "You can study later, tonight you're coming to my party." Naruto looked at him with a determined gleam in his eyes, "Don't give me some lame excuse, you've been avoiding me since that stupid movie. I don't really understand why since it's not a big deal, I really don't care if horror movies scare you," the blonde finally let out what he had wanted to say for the past week. "What I do care about though, is making you come to my party so we can stop being so awkward around each other," he put his foot down believing that there was no way Sasuke could say no.</p><p>"Fine," Sasuke sighed, making the blonde smile. He refused to think about just how easily Naruto had gotten him to agree. He would have told anyone else to fuck off, but with Naruto everything was different. All he could do at that point was hope that Naruto was right and that the night would ease the tension between them and not make it worse.</p><p>"Great, invite some of your friends too. We can have a big party that way," Naruto couldn’t stop grinning. Sasuke just nodded as the blonde promised, "You won't regret coming tonight."</p><p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p><p>The party was going well, but Sasuke knew not to be fooled because it seemed like all parties started well. The problems started when he got too drunk so he decided to limit himself to one beer and nothing else. He had gone so far as to make Suigetsu promise to stop him if he thought he was getting anywhere near tipsy. He kept to only hanging out with his friends and was talking with Juugo and Suigetsu when Naruto walked up to them. "Come on Sasuke, it's your turn," he cheered.</p><p>"My turn for what exactly?" Sasuke asked, not trusting the blonde. Despite Naruto’s earlier assurances he was already looked like he had a little too much to drink.</p><p>"It's your turn to do a birthday shot with me," the blonde grinned. "I'm making certain people do them with me and you're one of them," he told him, making Sasuke understand Naruto's current state. Sasuke knew if Naruto kept going at this rate, by the end of the night he'd be wasted.</p><p>"I thought you weren’t getting too drunk tonight. How many of these have you had already?" Sasuke asked. He told himself that his concern was solely because of their past experiences with alcohol. "Don't you think you should have some water? You're going to get dehydrated," he pointed out. He wouldn’t admit the real reason for his concern.</p><p>"After this shot I promise I’ll get some water. Come on just one shot, please," Naruto pleaded. He wasn't slurring his words yet, so Sasuke knew he couldn't be too drunk but he was well on his way. The man wasn’t hitting on him or trying to kiss him yet so he was pretty sure he was only tipsy, not actually drunk.</p><p>Sasuke sighed and figured it wouldn't do much harm, but before he could even grab the shot, Juugo stopped him. He looked toward him for an explanation, which the other provided, "You said you didn't want to drink too much."</p><p>"Come on, it's one shot," Naruto rolled his eyes. He was set on getting Sasuke to do a shot with him, that was the one person on his list he wouldn't give up on.</p><p>"It's fine Juugo," Sasuke said, but the other looked at Naruto with distrust. Ever since the research incident Juugo didn't trust the blonde. "As he said, it's just one shot,” Sasuke made eye contact with Naruto as he said it, making it clear it was only going to be one shot.</p><p>Naruto watched as Juugo backed off, letting them take a shot. He didn't like how the other seemed to be too protective of Sasuke. It felt overbearing and unnecessary at times. "Was that so bad?" Naruto grinned as he looked at the raven.</p><p>"Shut up moron," Sasuke rolled his eyes, though there was a small smile he was trying to hide with a smirk. They both were relieved that things seemed to be getting back to normal. Sasuke reached into one of the coolers and pulled out a bottle of water. "Drink this," Sasuke demanded as he handed the blonde the water and walked away.</p><p>Naruto watched him walk away, with a little smile as he opened the bottle of water and followed Sasuke's orders. Even in his semi-drunk state, he could tell that the action meant Sasuke cared at least a little bit about his well being.</p><p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p><p>Sakura was staring at Sasuke dreamily. "I'm going to marry him one day," she said to the group of girls she was standing with.</p><p>"No you won't," one of the girls, Karin, glared at her. She knew Sasuke was gay, but that didn't mean that she wasn't going to fight for his affection as well. She wouldn't do it in front of him because she had managed to become somewhat friends with Sasuke and didn’t want to ruin that over a silly schoolgirl crush that would never go anywhere. She never really liked Sakura; in her opinion the other girl was just a pink haired bimbo that didn’t know how to take a hint. Sakura and Sasuke weren’t even friends so even if he were attracted to girls he wouldn’t end up marrying her.</p><p>"Excuse me?" Sakura asked angrily. The pink haired girl could turn from a happy drunk to a mean drunk in a matter of seconds, a person never knew what they were going to get. Most people knew not to mess with her because she was a lot stronger than she looked, but that didn’t deter Karin.</p><p>"You heard me, if he's going to marry any girl it'll be me," Karin scoffed. "Trust me, you're just not his type," she loved pushing her buttons when it came to the matter of Sasuke. It was almost a game to see how riled up she could get her just by reminding her that Sasuke would never be hers.</p><p>Ino caught onto what she said and figured that she probably knew that Sasuke was gay. It wasn’t as if Sasuke’s sexuality was a secret, especially with what people had witnessed between him and Naruto at one of the previous parties. Sakura hadn’t been at that party, but she couldn’t believe that she hadn’t heard what happened with how much she loved to gossip. "Do you really think this is a time to be fighting?" Ino asked. She knew that she and Sakura used to fight all the time over Sasuke when they were younger, but they had gotten over that. Unfortunately, it seemed that Sakura hadn’t moved on despite being rejected multiple times throughout the years.</p><p>"Shut up Ino, this is doesn't involve you right now, this is between us," Sakura hissed as she continued to glare at Karin. "You listen to me, I have been chasing after Sasuke for as long as I can remember and one day he will reciprocate those feelings," Sakura said.</p><p>"I wouldn't hold my breath," Karin chuckled. "If he hasn't reciprocated by now, what does that tell you? I mean at least I'm sort of his friend," the redhead gloated.</p><p>Before anyone knew what was happening, it turned into an all out girl fight. Sakura lunged at her, "He's mine!"</p><p>There was hair pulling, kicking, a few slaps here and there, at one point Sakura actually landed a punch. "No he's mine," Karin yelled back, about to punch her, but two guys pulled them apart.</p><p>"What the hell is going on?" Naruto asked as he held Sakura. The girl was trying to get out of his arms so she could rip Karin apart.</p><p>Karin just stood there with Suigetsu holding her back. "She's just mad because Sasuke doesn't want her," Karin explained as best she could, considering she was out of breath.</p><p>"She's trying to steal him from me," Sakura yelled as she finally stopped fighting. The two boys just looked at each other, unsure how to tell the girl that her dream guy was gay. They had thought by now everyone knew after Naruto and Sasuke’s very public drunken make out session, but she either didn’t know or had made herself believe that she’d be the exception.</p><p>Naruto knew that Karen was one of Sasuke’s friends and couldn't believe she didn't know he was gay. Once he saw the triumphant look on the girl's face, he started to think that maybe she did and was just having some sort of sadistic fun by upsetting Sakura. "Can you just stop fighting? It is my birthday," the blonde begged. Naruto just wanted to have a fun birthday with drinking and a party, not one where people were ripping each other apart.</p><p>Sakura took a deep breath and nodded, "Sorry Naruto." Her apology was sincere, not wanting to ruin her friend’s party by fighting. She shot one last glare at Karin before walking away, knowing if she stayed in her presence she'd probably try to rip her apart again.</p><p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p><p>Kiba was drunk. He had been responsible at many parties and refused to be left out of the people who were happily partying while drunk. He saw Naruto talking to Sasuke and Suigetsu. Naruto’s focus had seemed to be on Sasuke the entire night though there were others around them. The brunette walked over and sat a little closer than normal to Suigetsu. "Hey Naruto," Kiba slurred a little, getting the blonde's attention. "I just wanted to say sorry."</p><p>"Sorry for what?" Naruto asked, confused because his best friend hadn't done anything wrong. Had he been completely sober, he may have seen where the conversation was going. Unfortunately his tipsy brain wasn’t thinking about any of their past conversations.</p><p>"I'm sorry that I couldn't get Sasuke to strip for you for your birthday," he gave a drunk chuckle. "I know it's what you asked for, but I don't think he'd be too willing," he added before turning his attention to Sasuke. “Would you be willing to strip for him, Sasuke?” Both Naruto and Sasuke were blushing from Kiba's words, which made the brunette very satisfied.</p><p>Suigetsu looked at Kiba; shocked he'd say that in front of Sasuke. He figured that was something the brunette would tease him about when the raven wasn’t present. He wasn’t sure when or why such a conversation took place, but the look on Naruto’s face made it clear that he must have said something of the sort at one point. "Kiba, I think you've had too much to drink," Suigetsu took his beer out of his hand.</p><p>"No," Kiba said as he leaned on Suigetsu, swinging his arm around his shoulders. "I don't think I've drank enough," he argued as he tried to get the beer back, which put the two in a very awkward position.</p><p>Suigetsu got out of his grasp, though part of him didn't really mind being so close to Kiba. "You really have," Suigetsu said, their friends nodded in agreement.</p><p>"He's right Kiba," Naruto agreed. "We really don't need you being a loud mouth stupid drunk tonight," the blonde added bitterly. He was annoyed that his friend had said that, knowing full well that both him and Sasuke were sober enough to remember his words the next day.</p><p>Sasuke was still trying to process what the brunette had said. "We really don't need you revealing anything else," he agreed with his friends. He felt he was better off without the information that Kiba was offering. They had just made progress with making it so it wasn’t awkward, he didn’t want to ruin that because Kiba was an idiot. Even if he didn’t want to admit it, he was actually having a good time talking to Naruto that night.</p><p>"Whatever," Kiba stumbled his way to Suigetsu. "Just give me the beer," he looked at Suigetsu as if he were his prey. He could have just gone and got another beer, but instead he made it so he backed the light haired teen into a wall. He placed is hand on the wall next to Suigetsu's face and leaned in close, "There's nowhere to go, just give it to me."</p><p>Suigetsu just took a deep breath, half of him liking the position they were in, the other half knowing they wouldn't be in the position if Kiba weren't drunk and if he didn't have the other boy's beer. "Fine," he sighed, handing him his beer back, making Kiba smile triumphantly as he move away. Suigetsu had to take a moment to shake off his feelings before he walked back over to the party.</p><p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p><p>Ino was sick of coming second; she knew she was second because Shikamaru was actually talking to Temari. The two of them seemed to be having a good time, drinking and talking. Ino just sighed and knew that if he really wanted to be with her then he'd be talking to her instead of Temari.</p><p>"What's wrong?" Sakura asked. She could tell that her best friend was upset, it was written all over her face.</p><p>"They look happy," Ino said, knowing that Sakura would know exactly what she was talking about.</p><p>"I'm sorry," she responded. She wished that she could say more to help her friend, but there was nothing else to really say. She understood what unrequited love felt like, but at least Sasuke wasn’t leading her on while he flirted with some other girl.</p><p>Ino just nodded, "I know you think that you love Sasuke, but you have someone who loves you back and you should give him a chance."</p><p>"Lee? Are you talking about Lee?" Sakura sounded disgusted. She couldn't believe what her best friend was saying. Never in a million years had she thought of herself as being with Lee.</p><p>"I'm just saying, you've never really given him a chance so you just never know," she pointed out. Ino knew by the l pink haired girl's grimace she wouldn't even consider it. "Okay, I get it, forget I said anything." She felt it was a little hypocritical of Sakura to whine about Sasuke not giving her a chance when she had a guy that would be happy to receive her affections. Lee was a little over the top sometimes, but he was a nice guy and deserved a chance.</p><p>"Trust me, I'll get Sasuke, so there's no need to even think about other guys," Sakura reassured her. Ino just frowned, knowing that Sakura would never be with her dream guy. Even if Sasuke were attracted to girls, the two weren’t compatible. Ino didn’t know Sasuke well, but she knew he wasn’t the guy Sakura wanted him to be. Sakura had made him out to be this ideal guy in her head and put him on a pedestal that not even he could live up to if he ever decided to give her a chance.  </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, what does everyone think about the progression of Naruto &amp; Sasuke's relationship? </p><p>Have I made anyone start shipping Suigetsu &amp; Kiba yet in this story? </p><p>Let me know what you think.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0027"><h2>27. Paintball</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I don't know how, but according to my word count on Word I added around 1,000 words to this chapter...I find it very hard to believe but hopefully it turned out well.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>For the most part, the party had worked to make the awkwardness between Naruto and Sasuke go away. Thankfully they had both managed to remain relatively sober and there were no further incidents after Kiba’s comment. Not a lot of people were around when he had made the comment and everyone that was present knew not to make a big deal about it. There was a silent agreement to not talk about it, so it blew over within a week. The blonde was happy that Sasuke didn't start acting weird when Kiba blurted out what Naruto had said when he was drunk. It seemed as if the raven had just wrote it off as Kiba being drunk and stupid.</p>
<p>On the inside, it was an entirely different story. Sasuke’s inner turmoil continued as he kept wondering why Kiba would make that comment. He didn’t know if it was something Naruto had said he wanted or if he had been doing his normal teasing. It scared him just how much he had wanted it to be because Naruto had made that comment. At the same time he tried to convince himself that Naruto wouldn’t say such a thing. "I just don't know what it meant," Sasuke told Suigetsu as he paced the other teen’s room. "Why would Kiba say that?"</p>
<p>"Sasuke, most people think you're physically attractive, I'm sure that's all it is," Suigetsu assured him. He didn't understand why Sasuke was really worrying about it. It was no secret that either of them found the other attractive, they had proven that on multiple occasions. No matter how many times either of them tried to deny that there was something between them, it was obvious to everyone that there was something more.</p>
<p>"I guess, it's just awkward because he's my roommate," Sasuke said, causing Suigetsu to roll his eyes. Sasuke stopped pacing as he sat on Juugo’s empty bed. He took a deep breath; hating that just one seemingly meaningless comment could affect him so much.</p>
<p>"Hate to tell you this Sasuke, but you're attracted to him too. It really shouldn't be a big deal. Remember we went over this after the party incident," Suigetsu reminded him. He didn’t even need to refer to which incident he was talking about. The two of them had made out at a party and who knows what might have happened if they hadn’t been so drunk that they fell asleep before anything could progress. </p>
<p>Sasuke knew that he was right. There really was no denying after that incident that they were at the very least physically attracted to each other. He didn’t just go around kissing random people. The blonde had gotten his attention for a reason, even if he continued to deny it when asked. "I guess you're right," he admitted, knowing there was really no fooling his best friend. “I just don’t know what to do or think.”</p>
<p>“That’s not something I can help you with,” Suigetsu told him. “You need to come to terms with whatever you’re feeling on your own. I can’t force you to admit you like the guy.”</p>
<p>Sasuke was silent for a moment, lost in his thoughts. Suigetsu didn’t want to interrupt so he just sat there and tried not to stare at his best friend. “Fuck,” Sasuke finally cursed. “I like the idiot,” he mumbled, more conflicted than ever.</p>
<p>Suigetsu’s eyes widened, shocked by the confession. “I’ve been trying to tell you that for a while now,” he said softly.</p>
<p>“No,” Sasuke shook his head. “I can’t like him. I don’t like him. This conversation never happened,” he stood up. “I gotta go,” he quickly left the room, ignoring Suigetsu as he called his name.  He made his way to the library, needing anything to get his mind off of the blonde and whatever he may be feeling. It was the one place he was pretty sure he wouldn’t run into his roommate.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>It wasn’t until lunch that somehow found himself in Naruto’s presence.  He was trying to act like everything was fine and that he did not actually think about possibly liking the blonde earlier that day. He wasn’t sure why, or at least wouldn’t admit why, he agreed to lunch without resistance when Naruto text him that they guys were meeting for lunch. What was worse was that he found himself gravitating towards the blonde, voluntarily sitting next to him.</p>
<p>Suigetsu gave him a knowing look, which he promptly ignored. He told himself they were just friends and that he had no deeper feelings for the other teen. He decided to turn his attention back to the conversation, shoving those thoughts deep into the back of his mind.</p>
<p>"I'm bored," Kiba whined.</p>
<p>"Then what do you want to do?" Naruto asked. There wasn't much to do on campus except hang out with friends or study. There was only so much they could talk about and none of them really wanted to study.</p>
<p>Kiba was silent for a while, trying to think of something to do. Just as Naruto was about to start the conversation again, Kiba suggested ”Paintball.”</p>
<p>"We can't really do that on campus," Sasuke pointed out. He hadn’t planned on going off campus and the last thing that he wanted to do was a get bruise from getting hit with paintballs.</p>
<p>"I know that, but it isn't that far of a drive," Kiba said. "Come on, it'll be fun and we can let out some aggression," the brunette smiled as the idea kept going. “Finals will be here before we know it and then we won’t be able to do anything fun until winter break.”</p>
<p>"Sounds so fun," Sasuke said sarcastically. "Then we'll have paintball sized bruises and be hurting the rest of the week.”</p>
<p>"Sasuke stop being so prissy, unless you’re really that bad at paintball," Naruto grinned as he nudged the dark haired teen. "Kiba's right, it'd be fun," he added before Sasuke could argue.</p>
<p>"I guess it could be fun," Neji agreed.</p>
<p>"See even Neji agrees," Naruto said, as if that would make Sasuke change his mind.</p>
<p>"A few rounds of paintball won't kill you," Suigetsu shrugged, making Sasuke annoyed. The light haired teen wanted something to do, even if his best friend didn't really agree with him. He understood why Sasuke might be apprehensive about playing something that could cause bruises, but it wasn’t like it’d be the first time they played. He knew he could handle it so instead of siding with Sasuke, he agreed with the rest of the group.</p>
<p>Sasuke could tell he was out numbered as the rest of the group chimed in that it would be fun. He sighed as he finally agreed, "Fine." He knew he was going to be pulled into going regardless of how much he argued, “Let’s get this over with.”</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>As they were walking to their cars they ran into Sakura, Ino and Hinata. Sakura saw Sasuke and immediately made her way to the group of guys, ready to take any opportunity to get to hang out with the raven. "What are you guys doing?" she asked, looking at her dream man while Sasuke tried to avoid eye contact.</p>
<p>"One word: paintball," Kiba grinned, thinking that that was enough to make the girls not want to come. He knew Hinata would distract him and Sakura would be all over Sasuke. Also, it was sometimes nice to have a guy’s day.</p>
<p>"Can we come?" Sakura asked. She didn't really like paintball, but she liked Sasuke. She figured anything that he liked and she could learn to love.</p>
<p>"No," Kiba quickly said, surprising his friends. They all figured he'd take the opportunity to spend time with Hinata. "We're just doing a guys’ day, you understand, right?"</p>
<p>"What, you think us girls aren't tough enough for paintball or something?" Sakura huffed, obviously annoyed. She hated when guys acted as if she couldn’t do something just because she was a girl.</p>
<p>"We never said that, we just want a guys’ day," Kiba said cautiously, not wanting to get on her bad side. He knew she didn’t really want to go. The last time they invited her she declined, saying she didn’t like paintball. He knew if Sasuke weren't involved she wouldn't have even asked to tag along.</p>
<p>"Whatever," she walked away angrily.</p>
<p>"Sorry about her," Hinata said quietly before she and Ino went to find their friend.</p>
<p>"A guys’ day?" Naruto asked after the girls walked away. "I wasn't aware we decided that," he laughed.</p>
<p>"I just didn't want to have to deal with Sakura today," Kiba said. "We all know she'd be all over Sasuke and really highly annoying," he sighed. “She made it clear last time that she doesn’t like paintball, it’s just an excuse to follow Sasuke around,” he added. Sasuke nodded in agreement, thankful that Kiba had turned it into a guys’ day.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>Sasuke was not happy when they geared up to play the game. He didn't like the fact that he had been convinced to go. The blonde saw the look on Sasuke's face and said, "Cheer up, you're on my team, isn't that a plus?" He swung his arm over Sasuke’s shoulders, “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”</p>
<p>Sasuke immediately pushed his arm off, hoping that the gear hid his blush. “I don’t need you to protect me,” he mumbled, quickly walking away from the blonde.</p>
<p>“It was a joke,” Naruto chuckled as he followed him. “Loosen up, this will be fun.”</p>
<p>“Our definitions of fun are very different,” he sighed. He refused to look at the other teen, acting as if he were just trying to focus on the game. Suigetsu was smirking at him, but Sasuke resisted the urge to flip him off, not wanting to pull attention to the situation. He was sure that if he flipped him off Naruto would notice and then ask questions.  </p>
<p>“Let’s do this,” Naruto grinned.</p>
<p>As they played the game Naruto was wondering why Sasuke didn't like paintball. The raven was good at it. It was down to them and Suigetsu and Kiba. "Okay, we have to beat them," Naruto told Sasuke. He knew Kiba would gloat all day if he won; he wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.</p>
<p>His serious tone almost made Sasuke laugh but he refrained. "I know," said Sasuke in a bored tone. Sasuke was very competitive so Naruto wasn't worried when he sounded bored.</p>
<p>"Okay, let's split up, that way if they they'll only get one of us at a time," Naruto said. The blonde had been sticking with Sasuke pretty much the whole game, double teaming people.</p>
<p>Sasuke just nodded and was about to go, somewhat relieved to get some distance between them. Naruto was helping him watch for the other two teens. The blonde saw Kiba hiding; ready to hit one of them if they moved from behind the beam, so he quickly pulled Sasuke back. "What the hell?" Sasuke asked, confused at the blonde's actions. He hyperaware of their closeness as they stood behind the beam, their bodies were not quite touch, but they were close enough that there was very little personal space.</p>
<p>"You think you'd be more alert, Kiba was just waiting for you," Naruto said as he looked at Sasuke. He was still holding his wrist, though the grip wasn't as tight as when he'd pulled him back. He couldn't help but admire how attractive Sasuke was, even in paintball gear. He could hardly see his face and the outfit really shouldn't make anyone attractive, but somehow Sasuke pulled it off. Their position should be awkward, yet neither of them had moved from it.</p>
<p>"I guess I should be more careful," Sasuke said, staring at Naruto. Part of him said to back away, but another part of him told him to say right where he was. He couldn't help but listen to the latter. There was just something about Naruto that made him not back away in that moment. Whereas just a moment before he was ready to run away, now he couldn’t move.</p>
<p>They didn't snap out of it until they each got a paintball to the arm. "Sorry to ruin your moment," Suigetsu laughed, causing them each to back away.</p>
<p>"We were just talking, we weren't having a moment," Naruto said as he quickly let go of Sasuke’s wrist. He didn't know how he hadn't heard Suigetsu approach them. He was starting to acknowledge that he might be more attracted to Sasuke than he cared to admit.</p>
<p>"If that's what you're calling it, fine by me," Suigetsu chuckled. "I'm just glad we won this round," he smirked.</p>
<p>Naruto saw Kiba walk up and give Suigetsu a high five, celebrating their win, and he knew that the brunette was going to be impossible the rest of the day. "Great, let's play another game, I want to kick your ass this time," Naruto said, deciding this next game to stay away from Sasuke as much as he could while being on his team.</p>
<p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p>
<p>They all went out to dinner after they were done. Naruto found himself not wanting to sit by Sasuke for once. If he were honest, a part of him really wanted to be next to the other teen, but then he thought he'd just end up somehow making it awkward. Instead he sat between Kiba and Shikamaru.</p>
<p>"Man I'm going to be sore tomorrow," said Kiba as he rubbed his shoulder. He was annoyed that Naruto's team ended up beating them overall.</p>
<p>"But at least we had fun," Naruto said happily. He liked winning, especially when he was able to beat Kiba. It would have been better if he had been able to beat both Kiba and Sasuke because the raven was his high school rival. Even though they had moved on from being rivals to being friends, there was still a part of him that would get some sort of satisfaction beating Sasuke.</p>
<p>"Some of us more than others," Kiba grumbled as he continued to rub his shoulder.</p>
<p>"Oh don't be a sore loser," Naruto laughed. Kiba just rolled his eyes, knowing Naruto would have been the exact same way if he'd lost. He probably would have been worse considering it was Naruto and Sasuke he’d be beating, not just Naruto.</p>
<p>Suigetsu put his portion of the payment on the table, "I should be heading out. I've got class in the morning." He stretched, tired and sore.</p>
<p>"I'm going to go too," Sasuke said. "I've got class as well," he added as he put his portion of the money down. The two had rode together to begin with, so it worked out that they would go at the same time.</p>
<p>After a short drive back to the school, they started walking to the dorms. "So, what was that thing between you and Naruto?" Suigetsu asked, breaking the silence between them. The question was inevitable, especially after what Sasuke had said earlier that day.</p>
<p>"I don't know," Sasuke answered honestly. "He just pulled me back so Kiba wouldn't get me and the next thing I know we're just standing there," he admitted. He had continued to tell himself throughout the day that his morning realization was just a lapse in judgment fueled by Naruto being physically attractive.</p>
<p>"Oh, so you do like him?" Suigetsu asked as they got to his dorm. If that morning was any indication, he knew that Sasuke was going to deny it. He couldn’t understand why Sasuke wouldn’t just accept that he liked Naruto and that wasn’t going to change no matter how many times he tried to deny it. The two walked in, continuing the conversation seeing that it appeared that Juugo wasn't in the room.</p>
<p>"No," Sasuke denied, though there was no real conviction behind his words. "I mean I don't think so," he sighed, extremely confused. "No, I know I don't," he reverted back to the same thing he did that morning.</p>
<p>"Okay," Suigetsu said, knowing his friend just needed time to accept it on his own. He knew he was getting there, but it was a struggle. "So you never did tell me how your brothers visit went," Suigetsu changed the subject, even though it was to something that happened weeks ago.</p>
<p>"It was good for the first half," Sasuke said, grateful that he didn’t push for more. "Obviously you know that because you were there most of the time. But then when Naruto's brother came I was completely ignored," he sighed.</p>
<p>"So the Uchiha brothers are attracted to the Uzumaki brothers? That's funny," Suigetsu chuckled. He didn't mean to actually say it, but it just came out, causing Sasuke to glare at him. "Anyway, has Orochimaru left you alone since then?" he asked, knowing he was probably treading into dangerous territory.</p>
<p>"Yeah, for the most part," Sasuke shrugged. "But he hasn't had much opportunity, I haven't really been hanging out around campus much outside of the dorms. At least not alone." Sasuke had become much more cautious after what had happened, not wanting to let himself get into that situation again. No matter how many times Suigetsu and Itachi told him that what happened wasn’t his fault, he still blamed himself for allowing Orochimaru to have the opportunity.</p>
<p>"That's true," Suigetsu said, sad that it had come to that. He’d hoped that the fact Sasuke no longer lived with Orochimaru would allow him to have some comfort, but it clearly wasn’t the case.</p>
<p>Juugo walked out of the bathroom, "What has Orochimaru done to you?" The two boys' eyes widened at the question. It was obvious that there was no turning back now.</p>
<p>"You should just tell him," Suigetsu said, knowing that there was no way to get out of this with a lie.</p>
<p>Sasuke was silent for a moment, considering his options. He knew that Juugo was a good friend and if he asked he wouldn't tell anyone. "You can't tell anyone," Sasuke said quietly.</p>
<p>Juugo nodded, waiting for an explanation. "You know I won't," he then said.</p>
<p>Sasuke took a deep breath, "When I lived at home, Orochimaru would abuse me." Juugo's eyes widened it was obvious he was angry and Sasuke was worried he'd lose control of that anger. "Juugo, calm down," he said calmly.</p>
<p>"What kind of abuse?" he asked. "Did he ever hit you? Is he a pedophile?" he began wondering if he'd ever sexually abused Sasuke and it made him furious. "Why didn't you report it?"</p>
<p>"He never sexually abused me," Sasuke sighed, though he couldn’t help but think back to what Orochimaru had said to him. "Reporting it would have done no good, you know that," he frowned. "Orochimaru holds too much power in this city.” It was the sad and dark reality of the situation.</p>
<p>"So he hit you?" Juugo asked. "Would you like me to hit him?" Sasuke could see his anger coming back and knew he needed to calm him down.</p>
<p>"Yes, he hit me," Sasuke confirmed with yet another sigh. "Don't hit him, it will only get you in trouble." He was starting to doubt his decision of telling Juugo, but it wasn’t as if he had much of a choice at that point. There was no denying what Juugo had heard while he was in the bathroom. "Please just calm down."</p>
<p>"What exactly did he do?" Juugo asked, getting that look on his face that he was going to hurt someone. Sasuke knew it was aimed toward Orochimaru.</p>
<p>"It was different all the time," Sasuke mumbled, not really wanting to relive it. He knew by the look on Juugo's face he wanted more information. "Sometimes he'd punch me, sometimes throw me against the wall, anything really that would cause me physical pain. He just never left bruises where people could see," he explained. "Now it's just mental abuse mostly," he sighed.</p>
<p>"Where is he?" Juugo asked. "Probably home right now," he guessed, wanting to hurt the man that hurt Sasuke. Sasuke was his friend, the one who included him and made it so he had friends.</p>
<p>"Juugo, just calm down," Sasuke instructed. "Please don't do anything," he plead, looking at his friend and seeing him calm down.</p>
<p>"Fine," he said, obviously not happy about it. He could tell by the tone in Sasuke’s voice that he truly wanted him to not do anything. No matter how much he wanted to hurt the man, he would respect Sasuke’s wishes. “But if he touches you again,” Juugo practically growled.</p>
<p>“Get in line,” Suigetsu told him. “I’m pretty sure Itachi has first dibs and it won’t go well for you if you take that away.”</p>
<p>“Who else knows?” Juugo asked, trying to be as calm as he could be in that moment.</p>
<p>“Me, you and Itachi,” Suigetsu told him. “Itachi wanted to get custody of him when he turned eighteen, but he was young still and Sasuke was a minor. Orochimaru has enough control that Itachi had no chance regardless of his status as an Uchiha,” he explained, knowing that Sasuke wouldn’t want to.</p>
<p>“Both of you stop,” Sasuke ordered, his tone turning more serious. “No one is going to do anything. This conversation is over so just leave it alone.” Before either of them could say anything Sasuke left the room, heading back to his dorm. He knew Juugo had more questions and Suigetsu would probably answer them, but he wanted no part of it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry this chapter took kind of depressing turn at the end but it had some moments...let me know what you think.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0028"><h2>28. Jealousy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I have written a short one-shot that takes place between chapters 14 &amp; 15 of this story about what happened after Kiba left them when they were drunk. I may be writing more of these kind of one-shots. Let me know if there are any parts of this story you would like to see expanded into a bonus chapter/one-shot. These will all be posted as part of the Lights Out &amp; Related One-Shots series.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kisame was getting sick of it. He hated seeing Itachi's phone light up with the name Kurama. He hated how Itachi would take the call in private. But the thing he hated the most was that he had no idea who this person was. He started to notice the calls when Itachi came back from visiting Sasuke so knew that the boy would probably know who the person calling was.</p><p>He picked up his phone and dialed the teen's number. It felt like forever before Sasuke answered though it was really only a few seconds.<em>"Hello?"</em>he finally heard.</p><p>"About time you answer," Kisame was annoyed. He hated waiting for anything, especially when he had a question. He was already on edge since Itachi seemed to be keeping this mystery person a secret.</p><p>"<em>You're lucky that I answered at all,"</em>Sasuke replied in the signature Uchiha monotone voice. Kisame knew it was just to piss him off.<em>"Why'd you call?"</em>he asked, wanting to get to the point.</p><p>"Who's Kurama?" Kisame asked. "He keeps calling Itachi and I don't like it.” He knew he probably sounded jealous or possessive, but he didn’t care. He needed to know what he was dealing with.</p><p>Sasuke sighed, he knew this phone call was coming sooner or later,<em>"Why don't you just ask Itachi?"</em>He really didn't want to be apart of his brother's drama. He had enough drama of his own; he didn’t need to add Itachi’s love life into the equation.</p><p>"No, then it'd sound like I'm jealous," Kisame said, as if the idea of asking was ridiculous.</p><p>Sasuke just rolled his eyes. He knew that he probably should have expected that answer.<em>"Well, aren't you?"</em>he asked.</p><p>"That doesn't mean that I want Itachi to know that," Kisame argued. He didn't want to ruin his friendship with Itachi over a little crush. While there was times he thought his feelings might be reciprocated, there were also times like this that made him doubt it.</p><p>"<em>He's my roommate's brother,"</em>Sasuke finally told him, wanting the conversation to be over.<em>"Really Kisame, you should just tell him you like him. You may be surprised by the response,"</em>Sasuke added. He was over their mutual pining. Neither man wanted to be the first to confess, which Sasuke thought was ridiculous.  </p><p>"Yeah, whatever. I just wanted to know who he was, I didn't ask for your advice. Bye," he quickly hung p before Sasuke could give him more unwanted advice. With what Itachi had told him about Sasuke and his roommate he felt the teen was being rather hypocritical in judging how Kisame was handling his situation with Itachi.</p><p>It wasn’t long after his conversation with Sasuke that he had to deal with the issue. Kisame and Itachi were working when the Uchiha's phone when off. Kisame looked over and saw the name Kurama once again light up the screen. Before Itachi could grab it, Kisame grabbed it and sent the call to voicemail.</p><p>"Can I ask why you sent him to voicemail?" Itachi asked calmly. He was hoping Kisame would just admit that he was jealous. Sasuke had claimed that he was scared that Kisame being the same way, but he told himself that he was just seeing how long it would take for the other man to break.</p><p>"I don't want you talking to him," Kisame shrugged. He didn't give an explanation as to why, making Itachi annoyed.</p><p>"And why not?" he glared. “You don’t get to dictate who I talk to, especially without any good explanation.”</p><p>"I just don't," Kisame replied, causing Itachi to give him a look that clearly stated that his explanation wasn't good enough. "Can we please just drop the conversation?" Kisame sighed.</p><p>"No. You sound like a jealous boyfriend right now," said Itachi, just to see how the other would react. Itachi had already decided that if Kisame didn’t want to admit how he was feeling then it was time that he just moves on. Itachi knew that Kurama was obviously interested in him, so there was no reason to just wait for someone who's never going to make a move.</p><p>Kisame looked at Itachi, knowing that he should just admit his feelings. He knew it could cause a disaster given they were not only friends they also worked closely together. He knew that if Itachi liked him and he didn't admit that he liked him back then it could push the other man to find someone else. Someone like Kumara. He looked down, "That's because I am."</p><p>"Oh?" Itachi asked with a smirk. It was a pleased smirk, not an evil one that he'd perfected over the years. "And why are you jealous?"</p><p>"You're really going to make me say it?" Kisame mumbled. Itachi just nodded. Kisame sighed before admitting, "I like you, a lot more than I should."</p><p>"About time you told me," Itachi said nonchalantly. Kisame's eyes widened at his words, just making Itachi smirk more. "Don't worry I like you too," he then said, deciding not to torture him any longer.</p><p>
  <strong>NS</strong>
</p><p>Naruto had been watching Juugo and Sasuke's actions ever since Juugo had started hanging out with their group more. He had noticed that Juugo was very protective of the raven and he didn't like it. He didn't feel like it should be his job to be protective of Sasuke. Sure they were friends, but it's not as if they were best friends. It bothered him that it had gotten worse lately, as if something had happened to make him overprotective.</p><p>"What do you think of Juugo?" Naruto asked Kiba as they sat in the brunette’s room.</p><p>Kiba at him, confused at the question. He knew that Naruto couldn't have a crush on the guy. Naruto didn't know him well enough for that and even if he didn’t admit it, he already had a crush on Sasuke. He wasn’t sure crush was a strong enough word, the other teen was already half in love with him but refused to admit it. "He seems nice enough. Why do you ask?" Kiba asked.</p><p>"I don't what it is about him, but I find him a little strange," Naruto shrugged, trying to act as if it were no big deal. "He just seems too protective of Sasuke, it's weird," he added.</p><p>Kiba laughed, he knew his best friend was jealous and he couldn't help but find it hilarious. "Are you serious right now?" the brunette chuckled. "Isn't it good that he has a friend who cares about him?" he smirked, knowing that if it were Suigetsu it wouldn’t be a problem. The problem was that he didn’t know if Sasuke and Juugo crossed the boundaries of friendship.</p><p>"But it's too protective. And it's gotten worse, like something happened to make him even more protective. Do you think their secretly dating? That could explain it," Naruto said, trying to think of a reason.</p><p>"Why would they secretly date? Think about it, Sasuke is pretty open about being gay, I mean if someone asks he tells the person," Kiba reasoned.</p><p>"But he's so secretive, maybe that's one of his secrets," Naruto said. "Or maybe Juugo just likes him, do you think that's it?"</p><p>"Naruto, not everyone is gay," Kiba told him. Sometimes it was a mystery to him how Naruto's mind came up with ideas.</p><p>"I know but come on, it seems like he is. He is always around Sasuke when we hang out, that's got to mean something. And the way he tried to make Sasuke not have a shot with me at my birthday party," Naruto said. “Me and Sasuke are friends but Juugo acts like I’m the enemy.”</p><p>"Naruto, you sound jealous," Kiba smirked. "He's just a good friend and he hangs out with Sasuke because he doesn't really know anyone else. I mean he hangs out with Suigetsu when Sasuke's not around to hang out with him, is he dating him too?"</p><p>"One, I am not jealous," Naruto said, angry that his friend would even suggest such a thing. "Two, he's not as protective of Suigetsu as he is of Sasuke," he told him, his mind set on them either dating or Juugo being attracted to Sasuke.</p><p>"I'm sure there's an explanation," Kiba said, annoyed with his friend's crazy ideas. "Just stop being jealous," he sighed. “Unless you plan to finally do something about your crush on him, you have no reason to be jealous.”</p><p>"I'm not jealous," Naruto huffed as he practically stormed out of the room. He didn't want to hear Kiba tell him he was jealous one more time. He decided to go back to his dorm to try to get his mind off of everything rather than sit and listen to Kiba tell him that he’s jealous.</p><p>The blond was frustrated as he walked the fairly short distance to his and Sasuke’s room. He couldn’t help but think about what Kiba had said. <em>‘I’m not jealous,’</em> he told himself over and over. He wasn’t attracted to Sasuke; therefore there was no reason for him to be jealous just because he was hanging out with Juugo.</p><p>Naruto walked into his dorm room to see Sasuke sitting on his bed, studying. He couldn't decide if he wanted to ask about Juugo or not. However, it seemed that his impulsive nature decided for him, "What's your relationship with Juugo?"</p><p>"Excuse me?" Sasuke asked. He wasn't expecting that question, in fact, that was probably the last thing he was expecting.</p><p>"Are you two dating?" Naruto asked. He knew by the look that Sasuke was giving him it was a stupid question.</p><p>"No, why?" Sasuke asked. The raven didn't understand why Naruto would think that he and Juugo were dating. Juugo had started hanging out with them more often, but I wasn’t as if they had given any indication that they were dating.</p><p>"He's just really protective of you," Naruto said, feeling stupid for asking the question. "I just kind of found it weird," the blonde shrugged. He tried to play it off, realizing that his actions probably seemed odd.</p><p>"I can assure you he's just a friend," Sasuke chuckled. He just found the whole idea funny. Juugo had never showed any sign of liking him and he certainly didn't like Juugo. He wasn’t his type. They had been friends for a while but he had never thought of Juugo that way. </p><p>"Does he like you then?" Naruto asked, this time making Sasuke actually laugh. "I'm serious, the guy is really protective. There has to be a reason," the blonde said.</p><p>"I really highly doubt it, but even if he did, why do you care?" Sasuke asked, looking for some sort of explanation as to why Naruto would care if he were dating someone else. He hated that his heart raced a little at the thought of Naruto being jealous.</p><p>"I don't," Naruto said, starting to wonder why he did care. "I just was wondering," the blonde shrugged. He tried to brush it off, but he knew that he sounded jealous and that a part of him was. He told himself that if he were jealous it was only because he wanted a friendship with Sasuke like Juugo had.</p><p>"Why do you always seem to be wondering about me?" Sasuke asked.</p><p>"You're my friend, I just wanted to know what was going on," Naruto said nervously. "I still think that he likes you," Naruto muttered.</p><p>"Well can you not wonder about my relationships, you're starting to sound like you’re jealous, it's a little weird," Sasuke said, making the blonde blush a little. "I mean I could understand you being curious about Juugo if you liked me, but otherwise, it's kind of weird," he added. Part of him hoped that Naruto would say that he was jealous, but he quickly pushed that part to the back of his mind.</p><p>"I'm not jealous," Naruto said defensively. "I was just curious.” He didn't want Sasuke to think he liked him as anything other than a friend. It would be awkward and they already had enough awkward moments in their friendship to last a lifetime.</p><p>"I never said you were jealous, I just said you were starting to sound like you were," Sasuke responded, though there really wasn’t much of a difference between sounding and being jealous. "There's no need for you to get all defensive," Sasuke sighed.</p><p>"So if he doesn't like you and he's not your boyfriend, then why is he so protective?" Naruto asked, still curious.</p><p>"You just don't know when to stop a conversation, do you?" Sasuke shook his head. "He's a good friend," knew that by the way Naruto was looking at him it wasn't a good enough explanation. "He just didn't have any friends before I met him, I brought him into the group, he feels as if he owes me for that," he explained. It wasn’t the full truth, but it technically wasn’t a lie.</p><p>"Oh," Naruto said, suddenly feeling very dumb for thinking it was anything other than a good friendship. "Okay," there was something satisfying about the reason Sasuke gave as to why Juugo was so protective over him. He felt an odd sense of relief knowing that they weren’t dating and Sasuke didn’t feel that way about the other teen.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This kind of feels like a filler chapter but let me know what you think.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Let me know if I should continue revising/posting this. If people like it or request it I may be doing this for other older stories posted on FF as well.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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